Compensation agreed for victims of town flooding

VICTIMS of flash flooding in Barnstaple during the summer could be set to get up to £1,000 in compensation.

Torrential rain on August 17 left parts of the town under as much as 3ft of water, while traffic came to a standstill as floodwater made areas impassable.

People in basement flats were rescued by fire crews, with several made temporarily homeless by the flooding, and more than 100 properties, including the town’s Queens Theatre, suffered damage.

North Devon Council’s strategy and resources committee agreed at a meeting on Monday to set up a funding mechanism to help those in need, but funding will come from councillors’ community funds rather than the Covid-19 Hardship Support fund.

Councillors agreed that while they wanted to help the victims of the flooding there was a fear that using the executive contingency fund could lead to a precedent being set for future extreme weather events and that the £92,000 remaining in the Covid-19 Hardship Fund was probably going to be needed over the winter.

The committee heard that there were two levels of grants that could be provided. The first being £500 in cases where households have incurred significant loss of personal possessions and/or damage to property or furnishings, and do not have sufficient resources to replace lost items and/or pay for repairs and refurbishment.

The second being £1,000 where there is also an immediate health and wellbeing risk, with the money used to provide any measures which will ensure the health, safety and welfare of the occupants.

Cllr Ian Roome called for some financial support to be given to the residents who were affected, saying that when he helped out with the clear-up on the day, they were left in tears as they had no access to money.

He said: “For some of these people, 50p is a lot of money. We should be seen to be community leaders and for them to say ‘when we are desperate and in need, the council is there for me’.

“None of the money should be given to those who have claimed on insurance or financially well off, but some of these families have to sit on floors because sofas have been damaged by flood water.”

Cllr Caroline Leaver added: “The downpour came and there was no warning about it. These people were not able to prepare for this – they went upstairs, came down, and there was a foot of water in the living room.

“It feels very clear to me that whichever budget it comes from, if we the council are not able to prioritise these people then what are we here for?”

But Cllr John Patrinos said that flooding is not unique and asked what would happen next time Braunton ends up under water due to unprecedented flooding?

He said: “I have every sympathy with these people – who doesn’t – but the knock-on impact of Covid will outweigh that and we have to do all we can to marshal the resources.” Cllr Louisa York said: “The Covid money is for Covid ...we will need a lot of money for that.”