Catcliffe flooding victims: 'There's no urgency to the clean up the area'
Martin Willey has been living in hotels since his house was damaged by flooding from Storm Babet last year
As we continue our investigation into what's being described as South Yorkshire's forgotten village - people in Catcliffe tell us their mental health is 'going downhill'.
The area was devastated by flooding from Storm Babet last October - with many residents forced to leave their homes.
Martin Willey was one of those - he's lived in three hotels over the last four months - since his property on California Drive was damaged by flood water.
He says he's desperate to move back home - but can't see that happening any time soon:
"My life's changed quite dramatically.
"I'm still currently not back in the house. I'm living out of a hotel at the minute, which's causing a lot of problems for me.
"It's causing fights between my family, because things just aren't going as they should be.
"My mental health hasn't been brilliant since it's all gone off.
"We're asking a lot of questions, but not getting any answers.
"I think Catcliffe has been sacrificed because it's a small village.
"Where is the progress? Where are the Council? Where are the people who should be coming down to let us know what's going off?
"I don't know whether I'm coming or going, especially with the hotel situation.
"I've been in three different hotels in the past four months, because the insurance can't organise a block booking for some reason.
"It's all just been a nightmare."
Rotherham Council’s Assistant Director for Community Safety and Street Scene, Sam Barstow, said:
“Since the tragic flooding in Catcliffe and surrounding areas, ground maintenance and street scene operatives were deployed for over 1,800 hours to aid the recovery operation. This began with removing damaged household items, daily road sweeping activities, and cleansing and maintenance of council land.
“The Council arranged for community skips remain in place until the end of January, when additional street cleansing operations took place. For residents who had damaged flood items left to dispose of, a dedicated webform was created so a request to remove the items could be raised. An onsite collection point was set up at Catcliffe Memorial Hall where additional supplies were stored, and residents could go if they needed further support and advice.
“Cleansing and ground maintenance operations are scheduled to take place throughout the year, and we will continue to respond to any additional requests we receive.”
The Environment Agency sent us this statement in response:
“We know the devastating impact flooding can have and we understand the concerns of residents.
“Babet brought unprecendented rainfall – a month’s worth in less than 36 hours, with the River Rother at Catcliffe recording the highest ever river levels. The flood defences at Catcliffe were inspected after the event and they had operated as designed. Our focus is on supporting recovery in affected communities and we will continue to monitor flood defences in the area and carry out routine maintenance.
“We are also carefully considering what actions can be taken to further reduce flood risk in Catcliffe, working alongside local MPs and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The public can sign up to flood warnings for free on: www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings .”