£24 million spent so far in Yorkshire repairing flood damage
The Environment Agency has revealed that an extensive repair programme carried out since the December floods in Yorkshire, has so far cost in the region of £24 million.
The Environment Agency has revealed that an extensive repair programme carried out since the December floods in Yorkshire, has so far cost in the region of £24 million.
Today (4 April) marks 100 days since the devastating downpours hit many communities when the country experienced the wettest December since records began in 1910 and the rainfall led to record-breaking levels in the rivers Aire, Calder and Foss.
Assessments of nearly 8,500 flood defences have been carried out to identify what repairs are needed – with around 900 identified as needing some form of repair. More than 100 have already been completed and a further 300 are currently underway with the aim of getting all complete before the next winter.
Work continues to identify what more can be done to reduce the risk of flooding in the future. Flood Support Officers have visited more than 150 communities around Yorkshire to provide advice and hear from those affected and a further 16,000 properties have been added to the free flood warning service.
Phil Younge, major incident recovery manager, said: “The floods of December 2015 had a terrible impact on peoples’ lives, homes and businesses across the county. Many residents and businesses are not yet back in their properties.
“The job we have before us, of getting our defences back in a condition they were prior to flooding, is a huge challenge, but our teams are working tirelessly to restore protection to communities.
“We welcome the government’s recent announcement of £115 million to increase flood resilience across the Calder Valley, Leeds and York. This is in addition to £265 million we are already investing between now and 2021 to better protect 108,000 properties against flooding and coastal erosion.
“Approximately 16,000 more properties have signed up to our free flood warning service since the December floods, which is great news. However, we continue to urge people to sign up to this free service as only one fifth of all properties at risk of flooding in Yorkshire currently receive flood warnings.”
Floods Minister Rory Stewart said: “Boxing Day’s floods hit Yorkshire hard. Homes and businesses were deluged and many people were forced from their homes but it was inspiring how volunteers, emergency services and local authorities rallied together to help those in need.
“Since that day Environment Agency teams have worked tirelessly to help communities recover, from upgrading the Foss Barrier to removing tonnes of debris and clearing collapsed buildings and bridges.
“Work on future flood protection for Yorkshire is well underway, looking at placing multi-million pound engineering solutions down-stream, alongside natural flood management measures up stream.”
The 100 day milestone comes as a further £115 million was announced by Government for flood defence schemes in Leeds, York and the Calder Valley, which were badly affected in the December floods.
The focus of this funding is on schemes that will help communities at highest risk and areas where new defences will have the greatest impact on supporting economic growth, particularly in areas that were affected in December.
In Leeds £35 million will be made available to take forward plans for future phases building on Leeds City Council’s current £45 million flood alleviation scheme.
The Environment Agency was funded to carry out a Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme Scoping Study looking at future phases of the current scheme as a result of the flooding experienced throughout Leeds on Boxing Day 2015.
The scoping study is now complete and sets out a range of options to be investigated further with a view to reducing flood risk to Leeds city centre and the Kirkstall Road area.
The Environment Agency is working in partnership with Leeds City Council to produce a full business case which will establish the appropriate standard of protection for Leeds, looking at how this can be achieved, what it will cost and how long it will take to deliver.
The scoping study highlights the need to take a catchment wide approach, looking at both engineered options, such as raised walls, embankments and flood storage areas, as well as natural flood management measures which work with natural processes and manage the sources and pathways of flood water.
Over the next few months a consultant and construction team will progress the business case for approval in Autumn 2017. It is expected that work will start straight after this in late 2017 with significant progress to reduce flood risk to the city centre and Kirkstall Road. Further engineering work and a continuous programme of natural food risk management measures will carry on beyond 2021.
It comes as the new Flood Re insurance scheme is lauched.
The state-backed initiative aims to help flood-risk households obtain affordable insurance.
As the only charity that focusses solely on flooding, the National Flood Forum has been working with government and the insurance industry for many years to get a better deal for homeowners.
Paul Cobbing, Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum said: “Thousands of homeowners and residents currently struggle to get buildings and contents insurance which creates anxiety, stress and frustration. It is hoped that Flood Re will be the game changer that enables more people to take out affordable insurance to protect their homes and provide peace of mind.”
It is expected that the vast majority of insurance providers will sign up to the scheme which should create a more competitive market for consumers to shop around in.
Paul continued: “Until now, many people in flood-risk areas either couldn’t obtain or afford insurance and insurers haven’t been able to offer affordable policies in flood risk areas, as the number of flooding incidents and size of claims increased. Through Flood Re, insurers will now be able to change all that.
“Flood Re is time limited to 25 years after which flood insurance will return to the free market. Therefore, it is critically important that we use this opportunity to radically reduce flood risk to communities across the country.
“Our level of ambition needs to increase significantly, with roles for all parts of society including Government and the insurance industry. It is a critical time for government and all stakeholders with an interest in flood risk management to work together to devise and deliver a much more robust, collaborative and ambitious plan for managing flood risk. Whatever the approach it must serve to lessen the impact and reduce the huge cost of flooding to individuals and the public purse.”
Flood Re works behind the scenes; people will continue to deal with their insurance companies in exactly the same way as before. They will not need to contact Flood Re. To ensure sufficient funds are available, all domestic property insurers operating in the UK will pay a statutory levy. This will be a total of £180m across all insurers. In addition, all household insurance policies will pay a small fee that will be passed to Flood Re. Policy holders can expect to see the flooding part of their excess capped at £250 and a more competitive market will drive down policy premiums too.
Paul said: “We will be keeping a close eye to see how effectively the scheme performs but we are really hopeful that it will make a big difference to people’s ability to shop around for the best deal for them. However, in order for the scheme to work most effectively, it is important that people shop around.
“We are aware however, that there is still work to be done in other areas of insurance, particularly around small businesses who are not covered by Flood Re but who still struggle to find affordable cover. Whilst we fully recognise this doesn’t fall under Flood Re’s remit, we will continue to push for changes to be made so that all those affected by flooding have a fair chance of getting insurance.”