Response to floods praised – after initial criticism

LOCAL AUTHORITY leaders have praised a council’s response to floods which hit hundreds of homes in a Yorkshire town, despite initial criticism.

Doncaster Council’s director of corporate resources, Debbie Hogg, and Phil Holmes, who heads adult social care, both commended the work by the authority’s staff.

However, many residents in the flood-hit former mining village of Bentley, on the outskirts of Doncaster, said the council’s initial response was not good enough, claiming they had to order their own sandbags with many arriving after the deluge had already arrived.

As many as 1,000 homes and businesses were swamped in the flooding which began on November 7, with the South Yorkshire villages of Bentley and Fishlake particularly badly affected.

Coun Mark Houlbrook, a Labour member for Thorne and Moorends on the council, thanked council staff and senior officers for their work, and said: “The council did get a lot of bad press early doors, but it’s quite clear there was a lot of hard work in unprecedented circumstances.

“I’d like to offer my sincere thanks for the works they’ve provided to the communities. I think people in the community do recognise that and all councillors share the same thoughts on that.”

Mr Holmes added: “The flood response did enable us to show how connected we could be with the communities that were affected in a horrendous situation. But it was good to see officers from a range of backgrounds just operating as one team in those communities.”

Ms Hogg claimed that an “awful lot of effort” had gone in to helping flood victims and the council had responded in a “unified way”.