Lagoon Hull: the Humber estuary's ambitious new flood defence scheme

From the giant and much celebrated suspension bridge linking the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire; to the assorted oil refineries, power stations and wind turbine factories that line its banks, the Humber estuary is no stranger to impressive feats of engineering.

But a newly proposed flood defence project for the region - Lagoon Hull - could, it’s proponents claim, ultimately become the most ambitious and impactful engineering project of them all.

Hull is of huge economic importance to the UK. Alongside its existing industrial footprint it has, in recent years, become a key hub for the UKs rapidly growing offshore wind industry and is regarded as a critical gateway to Europe for the so-called Northern Powerhouse.

But the city - 90 percent of which stands below the high-tide line - is also unusually vulnerable to coastal flooding, and the damage caused by tidal surges has been a regular feature over the decades. Most recently, in December 2013, a record tidal surge on the east coast, came within centimetres of breaching the city’s existing flood barrier, and devastated the nearby port of Immingham, a key site for UK oil and gas imports. And with similar events expected in the future, city planners are understandably concerned about the increased impact of such events as sea-levels rise.