Wiltshire Council dismay at lack of flood support funding
The Government has confirmed no extra funding is being made available
The leader of Wiltshire Council has slammed the Government for failing to support people in the county affected by flooding during Storm Bert.
High winds and heavy rain lashed much of the country across in mid-November, leading to 220 reports of flooding on roads and in properties across Wiltshire.
But no extra funding has been made available to support recovery efforts, which Council Leader, Cllr Richard Clewer, has called 'extremely disappointing'.
Anticipating some funding being made available, the council had originally asked both residents and businesses that had experienced flooding as a result of Storm Bert to contact them. The council then planned to get in touch with all affected residents and businesses to let them know of the Government grant funding and how they could claim this funding, should it be forthcoming.
However, the Government has now confirmed that there will be no grant funding available to residents or businesses following the Storm Bert floods.
“This is particularly frustrating as we know just how much any funding would have helped affected residents and businesses get back on their feet.
“However, despite the worst flooding in Chippenham and Melksham since the 1960s, as well as the Avon bursting its banks in Bradford on Avon, we will receive nothing this time around. We even had the Minister for Water and Flooding visit Wiltshire following Storm Bert, which illustrates how serious the situation was here.
“We have previously received financial support from the Government to grant to affected businesses and residents for every major flooding incident since 2013, which makes this decision even more difficult to understand.
“We will continue to do all we can to lobby the Government and to try to secure the funding that our communities need.”