Revolutionary flood house, designed to rise above water, among successes of Hull's Flood Innovation Centre

And Sarah Clark, who oversees the university’s regional funding portfolio, says the change does not mean an end to years of expertise in Yorkshire and that innovative developments will continue to have a “lasting impact” on the flood resilience of local communities.

“Thanks to the work that the team has been able to deliver using funding from the European Regional Development Fund, hundreds of businesses and charities are now not only more aware of the flood risk that they face but have taken practical steps to make themselves more flood resilient,” Sarah says.

“Although the latest tranche of funding ceases this year, the support that the team has been able to provide to businesses and charities will continue in a different form through the Aura Innovation Centre, bringing world leading energy and environment expertise closer to the business community.”

The Flood Innovation Centre (FIC) says more than 80 businesses have received advice, training and practical support to help them better protect their premises, staff, stock and other assets against the threat of flooding.

The FIC has also supported a number of charities and Community Interest Companies to boost their resilience to climate change with online and face-to-face training sessions.

Other organisations the team has worked with have developed, tested and launched flood resilience products and services.

One of the big success stories was a ground-breaking FloodSafe House – a house that is designed to rise above water, through a mechanical jack system, when it detects flooding.

The FIC team worked with the product’s designer, Doncaster-based Andrew Parker, whose background is in domestic construction.

Andrew first came up with the idea for the FloodSafe House in 2012, having seen first-hand the devastation that flooding caused to his friends and family.

The FIC supported FloodJack International Ltd to accelerate the commercialisation of Andrew’s product. With a focus on end-users, including housing associations and potential residents, it carried out an evaluation of the social and ethical impacts of the system.

Speaking after the team saw a prototype in action last year, Andrew said: “Understanding the occupiers’ point of view, the first responders’ actions during a flood and the social value the FloodSafe House could produce was something that I needed to get to grips with and enabled me to make small redevelopments to the product.”

When the £3.4 million FIC was established back in 2019, it was set up to champion flood innovation among small to medium enterprises and was successful in securing £1.9 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

That was matched with a £1.5 million contribution from the university itself, which, since the devastating impact of the 2007 Hull floods on homes and businesses across the Humber, has been working to develop research and knowledge in flood resilience.

The FIC was funded to provide support to businesses in several local authority areas across the country including Barnsley, Doncaster, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, Rotherham and Sheffield and to help in the development of different approaches and solutions to flood resilience.

At the Flood Innovation Showcase on June 13, businesses and charities from across Yorkshire and beyond will be able to find out more about some of the flood resilience work that has taken place, supported by the FIC.

The event, at the Aura Innovation Centre, near Hessle in East Yorkshire, will also give those in attendance an opportunity to see examples of property flood resilience products that can help them better prepare their organisations for any risk of flooding.

For more information or to book a place, visit floodinnovation.co.uk/events