A report to be considered by senior councillors next week has said the recovery process from the Boxing Day Floods in Leeds is ‘almost complete’.
The executive board report has outlined the work undertaken by the council following the floods, which left the Kirkstall Road area under several feet of water.
Councillors are expected to decide to use the remainder of the £3.435 million government flood response grant to continue to help support businesses in flood affected areas.
They will also support any outstanding clean-up priorities – particularly around the river bank, where debris can still be found – and the development of a wider regeneration strategy for the Kirkstall Road corridor and industrial areas in Hunslet.
The report says:
“Much of the Storm Eva Strategic Recovery Plan has now been completed or is in the process of being completed, indicating that the recovery phase is almost complete, with support set to continue for those who still require it.
“The response and recovery to Storm Eva and the work of the Council, partners and volunteers has been a credit to the city.
“The lessons learned report highlights a number of these successes, as well as important areas where improvements can be made to existing policies and procedures to increase the city’s resilience to future emergencies.”
Areas to be looked at for improvement by the council includes better communication, a review of the sandbag policy, the need to build local flood groups and out of hours response.
The report says a Community Interest Company is now being set up to support future flood preparedness in Kirkstall. A flood volunteer’s celebration party event was also organised in May by the group, which was open to all of the volunteers and council staff who helped in the clean-up.
The report can be read in full here.