Brighouse Flood Alleviation Scheme

Bridge being installed at Wellholme Park in Brighouse

About the scheme

The new scheme will help protect the local area by doing the following things:

Store flood water: The project will hold extra water upstream in Whinney Hill Park and Wellholme Park.
Fix river walls: The teams will repair or replace old flood defenses along the River Calder.
Widen the rivers: The scheme will make the river channels wider. This stops Clifton Beck and the River Calder from spilling over.

This work does more than protect local homes and shops from floods. It also helps local wildlife. The project will create new green spaces and build up wild habitats along Clifton Beck. It will also use Natural Flood Management.

Artist impression of Whinney Hill park after the flood alleviation scheme is complete Artists impression of completed Wellholme Park

Latest information

+ 2026

February 26 - Information Bulletin No.8

+ 2025

+ 2024

November 24 - Information Bulletin No.4
September 24 - Information Bulletin No.3
July 24 - Information Bulletin No.2 - click here to view scheme progress
March 24 - Information Bulletin No.1
January 24 - Construction work in Wellholme Park is due to commence this March 24, which will mean that a large proportion of the park will be closed to the public. Whinney Hill Park will also be closed when construction starts in this area in the summer. The work will take approximately two years to complete. Please view the Keeping You Informed document in the link below for more information.
Keeping You Informed - Wellholme Park Closure
Keeping You Informed - drop-in 25th January and Tree Work
FAQs - Tree Removal
A community drop was held on Thursday 25th January 2024 at the Brighouse Central Methodist Centre. This was an opportunity to meet the project team and ask any questions about the work ahead.

+ 2023

November 23 - Keeping You Informed - November 2023 - Trial Hole work in Wellholme Park & Whinney Hill Park
April 23 - Preparation work for the Brighouse FAS will shortly be taking place along the north bank of the river near Huntington Road to remove some existing tree stumps/fencing in the area and re-build parts of the bank. The work is due to commence w/c 24th April and last for approximately 10-14 weeks. We will endeavour to keep any disturbance from these activities to a minimum and any businesses affected by the work have been contacted directly. If you have any questions about our work in this area, please contact [email protected].
Keeping You Informed - August 2022 (Wall Repair Work & Planning Application) & Associated Map
Public open event - 9 March 2022
Keeping You Informed - January 2022

Artist impression image

The image on the left is an artist impression.

Top: Completed Wellholme Park

Bottom: Whinney Hill park after the flood alleviation scheme is complete

Man looks at flood alleviation scheme plans at the Brighouse drop in event.

Public Consultation Event - March 2022

The Environment Agency held a public information event at the Brighouse Central Methodist Church on 9^th March 2022. The event provided an opportunity for the local community to find out more about the scheme and speak to the project team.

The documents we shared are shown below:

Overview of Works

Landscape Connectivity Plan

Wellholme Park Design Concept

Whinney Park Design Concept

People viewing past flooding interpretation boards at the Brighouse drop in event.

Background

Past flood incidents

In recent years, businesses and the local community have been impacted by devastating flood incidents which have severely affected the local economy.

The flooding also badly impacted local infrastructure, making the main route to the M62 and the roads to Elland, Huddersfield, and Bradford impassable. Large parts of the flood defences along the River Calder throughout Brighouse were damaged.

Environment Agency worker wears an Environment Agency fleece.

Funding

The scheme for Brighouse will better protect local businesses from the risk of river flooding and support plans for regeneration and new housing.

Due to the economic benefits of the scheme, the project team are working with a number of partners to secure funding. These include:

West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.
Highways England.
European Structural and Investment Funds.
Local businesses.

The Environment Agency and Calderdale Council have also been successful in securing additional funding from the government to deliver flood risk alleviation schemes across Calderdale.