Living with Water announces £26.3m flood resilience plan for Hull and East Yorkshire (1)

Living with Water has revealed the next phase of its plan to reduce flood risk in Hull and the East Riding, marking a continuation of investment in long-term, sustainable water management.

This next phase, which is a major step forward in the delivery of the partnership’s 25-year Blue-Green Plan, will relieve pressure on the city’s combined sewer network, using nature-based solutions to provide flood resilience. The Blue-Green Plan is a 25-year strategy to manage surface water and sewer flooding, utilising blue (water) and green (vegetation) infrastructure to boost resilience within communities.

Partnership working between Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency, and the University of Hull, will be central to the programme, with each partner bringing vital experience that will be critical to its success and will ensure the investment provides benefits for local communities. 

As part of these plans, Yorkshire Water is investing £26.3m to support the delivery of the programme, which will increase surface water separation and flood resilience over the next five years. The work will focus on the west of Hull and the East Riding, areas that are vulnerable to several types of flood risk.

This next period of investment will involve the disconnection of roadside drainage from the combined sewer system and the installation of roadside Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and rain gardens, redirecting these flows through either existing or newly created blue-green corridors within the city. To enable this, a new tidal pumping station will be built to discharge flows to the Humber, reducing the risk of homes and properties flooding.

These projects will take approximately 10 hectares (equivalent to 7km of roads) of surface water from the combined sewer network, providing a 1-2% flood resilience improvement across the catchment.

By supporting the creation of new surface water networks, this investment will create a strong foundation for future phases of flood risk management. It lays the groundwork for a city-wide transformation to manage surface water, aligning with Living with Water’s long-term vision to build community resilience and sustainable urban development, and to be adaptable to climate change.

Building on the success of the previous five-year delivery programme - including the installation of permeable paving on Rosmead Street in partnership with Hull City Council’s housing team, the construction of six large aqua-greens in the Derringham area of Hull, and SuDS schemes in Bilton and Orchard Park – it marks a significant step forward in delivering sustainable, forward-looking water management in the area.

Living with Water is working with sustainability specialists, Stantec, on the early stages of the project.

Emma Brown, manager of strategic partnerships at Yorkshire Water and general manager of Living with Water, said: “This investment is a vital part of our long-term strategy to build flood resilience across Hull and Haltemprice. By working with our partners and embracing sustainable, nature-based solutions, we’re not only protecting homes and businesses – we’re creating greener, more biodiverse spaces for communities to enjoy.”

Living with Water, established after the 2007 floods, is a partnership between Yorkshire Water, Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the Environment Agency, and the University of Hull. Together, they are committed to building a more resilient future for Hull and the East Riding.