12 February 2025

Flood alleviation scheme awarded £13.7m

A major new £13.7 million flood alleviation scheme is to be built in Bilton.

East Riding Council has announced the project after securing funding from the Government to construct several lagoons, embankments and watercourses around the village to help reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rainfall.

Work on the project could begin in early 2027, subject to the council securing planning permission and obtaining the necessary permissions and consents.

Bilton has suffered from multiple flood events in the past, most notably in 2007 when a significant number of properties were flooded in the village. Climate change predictions suggest that flood events, such as the ones experienced previously in Bilton, are likely to happen more often and with greater intensity in the future.

The new scheme aims to mitigate this risk and reduce the risk of flooding caused by future severe rainfall events. The project has been awarded £13 million of Flood Defence Grant in Aid funding from Defra, administered by the Environment Agency. This is in addition to a £650,000 Local Levy contribution from the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.

The council proposes the construction of a series of measures around the Bilton village perimeter designed to intercept, divert and temporarily store overland flows from surrounding land. Measures include storage areas, embankments and watercourse improvements.

The council already carried out a comprehensive technical study in order to secure funding for the project, which included detailed flood risk modelling. For the next stage of the project, the council will engage with key project partners, stakeholders and the local community as part of the development of the scheme and the detailed design process.

The flood alleviation scheme has been developed in partnership between the council and Yorkshire Water as part of the wider Living with Water (LWW) Partnership. Established in 2017, LWW is a partnership between Yorkshire Water, East Riding Council, Hull City Council, the Environment Agency and the University of Hull.

The partnership works together to build flood resilience and develop innovative water management systems, through investment in environmental infrastructure alongside community engagement and education, as well as highlighting the region as a great place to live, work and visit.

Yorkshire Water is already investing £4 million in Bilton in an ongoing programme to install Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) across the village. SuDS are designed to prevent flooding caused by rainfall by mimicking natural ways of draining surface water.

The council and LWW partners will also work with residents and businesses in the area to show them what measures they can take to reduce their own flood risk.

Councillor Paul West, the council’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said: “I’m extremely pleased we’ve been able to secure funding for this vital scheme designed to help shield the residents and businesses in Bilton from the devastation of flooding.

“This project will join the other multimillion-pound flood alleviation schemes we have already built across the East Riding which have proved essential in diverting floodwater from communities when it rains heavily.

“The likelihood of flooding is only going to get worse, so working together with Yorkshire Water and our other Living with Water partners on this scheme and the others planned is more important than ever.”

Professor Colin Mellors, chairman of the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, said: “The committee is very pleased to support this important scheme, which will better protect 188 residential and 11 non-residential properties from future flooding in Bilton.

“Through the creative deployment of several interventions, it is intended to help reduce the flood risks that affect this area, and which will only increase with climate change.

“It is also another example of the successful partnership approach to addressing flood risk that exists across East Yorkshire.”

Emma Brown, Living with Water general manager and strategic partnerships manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re thrilled to be working as part of Living with Water to build flood resilience in Bilton.

“This success in securing funding brings into the spotlight the need for more joint working in the future to mitigate against climate change and the present threat of flooding we have in this part of the world.”