A year on from Sheffield’s floods and the city is more protected than ever

The city flooded on November 7 last year, following three days of torrential rain and the fifth wettest autumn since records began in 1882.

There were more than 100 flood warnings across South Yorkshire and Sheffield Council declared a major incident.

It was an unwelcome reminder of the devastating floods of 2007 but thanks to measures put in place then, the city didn’t suffer as badly.

Lower Loxley flood defences, costing £9m, are being built in the Hillsborough and Owlerton neighbourhoods and should make the city even more resilient.

Coun Mark Jones, Cabinet member for environment, streetscene and climate change, says the council is not complacent.

“So much has happened already this year, it may be easy to forget that a year ago saw some truly terrible weather, with rainfall levels even higher than those which caused the 2007 floods.

“Thankfully, due to the significant council investment in flood defences, the city and its residents were largely protected. However, too many homes and businesses were still flooded.

“We will not trust our future to good fortune and kind weather. We have redoubled our efforts to invest in protecting our city.

“Over the last 12 months we have been working hard to increase flood defences and we will continue to go further.”

He said combating the climate emergency was a key priority.

“Flooding is one of the most obvious effects of the climate emergency and we need national and radical leadership to address this problem, that is both the causes and effects of global heating.

“Sadly, proper leadership from government has been lacking for many years and it is being left to cities like Sheffield to tackle this global issue.

“We have ambitious plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions, we are pushing for cleaner air, and making the city safer against changing weather conditions such as flooding and heat waves.

“Long-term solutions are being sought but in the short-term we must address the increasing risk of flooding. We will continue to do everything we can to keep our city safe.”

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