A NEW report on flooding in York has led to further measures being put in place to help households become better prepared.

The North Yorkshire County Council report follows an investigation into flooding in North Yorkshire in February 2020.

And the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it will seek to implement measures in York and across Yorkshire to “reduce the risk of flood damage to properties, speed up recovery and enable people to move back into properties more quickly after flooding”.

The report comes after York faced its third four-metre flood of the year in the wake of Storm Bella - with York Central MP Rachael Maskell calling on the Government to pay more attention to managing the upper catchment areas of the Rivers Ouse and Foss and to bring forward investment in ‘slow the flow’ schemes on the Rivers Nidd, Swale and Ure, which flow into the Ouse.

Earlier this year, North Yorkshire experienced severe flooding after several weeks of very heavy rain. According to the Met Office, it was the wettest February since records began in 1981. Rivers in the county received more than three times their average rainfall – between 320 and 375 per cent. This resulted in 26 communities in southern and western parts of the county experiencing flooding.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the county council, said: “Yet again communities in North Yorkshire have been affected by flooding caused by heavy and prolonged rainfall. I welcome the findings and recommendations of this report, which the county council and other risk management authorities will use to work with communities to improve resilience to future such events.”

A new website explains the new flood resilience measures and what they look like. To find out more, visit www.yorkshirefloodresilience.co.uk.