New flood recovery plan
COUNCIL ASKED TO BACK PROPOSALS
PLANS to recover from the recent flooding and prepare for future events have been drawn up and will be discussed by Calderdale Council’s Cabinet when it meets next Monday.
Last week, the council’s Flooding Scrutiny Panel heard at least 695 homes and 572 businesses were flooded amid the havoc wrought by Storm Ciara, seriously damaging major infrastructure, roads and bridges and resulting in the closure of several schools.
The Cabinet will be asked to approve a Calderdale Flooding Single Integrated Recovery Plan which has been developed by the council and endorsed by local, regional and national partners.
It signals the council moving from addressing the immediate impact to leading and delivering recovery alongside communities and partners, setting out actions that have been identified to help the borough recover from the flooding and minimise the harm of a similar event in the future.
When it mees at Halifax Town Hall on March 16, from 6pm, Cabinet members are being asked to adopt the plan’s goals - to lead and coordinate recovery activity in impacted areas, minimise disruption to Calderdale’s infrastructure and assist a return to normality.
The council will support communities and ensure that their welfare needs are provided for, support business growth and recovery, ensure effective communication of the recovery plan and support future investment, councillors have been told.
The plan will also consider key lessons learned to deliver enhanced resilience to future flooding.
Cabinet will be asked to support the council’s continued communication with the Government to secure further funding for the delivery of the actions in the plan.
Council leader Clr Tim Swift (Lab, Town) said the council had to ensure that the recovery effort was proportionate to the scale of the flooding, which was second only to that of Boxing Day 2015 in terms of impact, and that preparations are made for the sustained threat of future events due to climate change.
“Communities have shown amazing resilience in their response to
Storm Ciara, and local and national bodies need to recognise this and support them through this distressing time to help Calderdale return to a new normality,” he said.
The meeting will also consider other related issues.