Global environmental protection specialist supports natural flood management project

Employees from the UK’s leading developer of specialised leak detection and environmental protection systems, Andel, have installed natural flood management across three sites in Leeds.

For the second year running, the Yorkshire SME provided staff and profits to help slow the flow of rainwater runoff on steep slopes which can lead to flooding downstream.

The company worked with Leeds Coppice Workers, a cooperative committed to restoring and managing neglected and underused woodlands, on a project to install 360 fascines in Posthill Nature Reserve, Gledhow Valley Woods and Meanwood Park.

Fascines are bundles of small wood staked in the ground and used to strengthen hillsides and riverbanks. The fascines are 5ft long and roughly 1 foot in diameter and bundled with natural sisal that rots down with the material over time. All the material is created through coppice woodlands throughout the Leeds area.

The Yorkshire manufacturer has more than 30 years' experience in leak detection, pollution prevention and flood defence and an impressive customer base which includes the Houses of Parliament, The Pentagon, Hong Kong International Airport and Google, so a local grassroots project to slow flooding was a natural fit.

Managing Director of Andel, Peter Double, said: “Flooding is already a problem for many areas within the UK and over the past few years people have started to realise that not only do we need to create defences in the built environment but in the natural environment too.

“We’re proud as an SME to be breaking the mould and committing so much to Sustainability and our ultimate goal to be Net Zero by 2025. We believe that when it comes to the environment, every little bit helps.”

Tom Coxhead, director of Leeds Coppice Workers, said: “As a tiny cooperative trying to do its bit in nature you can often feel dejected by what other larger companies are doing in the world but working with Andel has been reassuring,

“Andel clearly cares about the environment and climate change and is putting their money where their mouth is. This is the second year running they have supported us, and they have come out both years with their staff to help install the projects they have funded.”