Comment by Leader of Leeds City Council on flooding

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake said:

“This weekend Leeds has been hit by devastating flooding unprecedented in its severity. Our thoughts and the focus of all our efforts are rightly on working with all agencies in the city to help those worst affected in order to protect life and to restore our road networks and power supplies as quickly as possible. I would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts in this emergency, and also to praise the sense of community spirit from all those people keen to help - that is something which only serves to reinforce my sense of pride in our great city.

“The cost of the damage caused by this event will be considerable, and if ever the evidence was needed that cities like Leeds must have the best possible comprehensive flood defences this is it. The council warned the government after several near-misses in recent years that a major flood in Leeds was a catastrophe waiting to happen, but the response was slow and not the level of investment we know the city needs for it to be fully protected. While now is the time to focus on the wellbeing of our residents and the condition of their properties and possessions, we will again be calling on the government for further significant investment in additional flood defences for Leeds. A preventable disaster like this must never happen again.”

ENDS

Leeds City Council communications

Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

Tel: 0113 395 0244