We have been talking to residents and businesses in York that were affected by the terrible floods in December 2015. What has surprised us is that a number of people, particularly local businesses, simply don’t know about the £5000 flood grant that is still available to them.
The government allocated funding so that each house or business affected by the floods can have flood protection and resilience products fitted to protect them from future flooding.
The deadline for applications is 31st May 2017 so time is running out and people should act now.
What will it provide?
Flood protection means products that help to keep flood water out of your property. For example, fitting flood doors, flood barriers and SMART airbricks.
Flood resilience means making changes to help your property recover quickly if it is flooded again. For example, raising electrical sockets from floor to waist level, changing the flooring to something that dries quickly or moving the boiler out of the danger zone.
Mary Dhonau (Queen of Floods) has an informative video on explaining the difference between flood protection and resilience and what measures are available.
You can watch it on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk_galVAsqE
What should people do now?
Homeowners and business owners must act now to take advantage of the £5000 grant. They can apply online or download an application form at http://www.york.gov.uk/form/floodgrant. Alternatively, they can contact the council and have an application form posted to them.
The property will need to be surveyed and the surveyor will produce a report giving recommendations for protecting the property. We have been working with a local surveyor LHL (01904 690699 or nathan.hughes@lhlgroup.co.uk) but there will be other local surveyors who can also do this.
The surveyor’s report should then be submitted to the council with quotations from two companies who could complete the flood protection and resilience work.
The council will assess each application and they aim to approve the application within 5 days.
Householders and business owners then have a period of time to get the work completed and signed off.
Do people not know about the scheme or are they worried about what is involved?
We have spoken to local people (homeowners and local business owners) who don’t know that the Flood Grant scheme is available to them and that the deadline for applications is 31st May 2017.
There might also be people who think it is all going to be “a lot of trouble” and therefore they won’t bother. Yes, there are some forms to be completed and some organising to get your survey and quotes from companies organised. However, this needs to be balanced against the impact and trouble involved when flooding happens again.
The UK Flood Defence Alliance has brought together in one place a wide range of high quality, kite-marked flood protection products from a range of manufacturers. This makes it easy for people to get the right products for their property. Homeowners and businesses deal with one contact who will make sure that everything goes smoothly from ordering to installing.
For further information please call 0208 442 0872 or email info@ukfda.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website on www.ukflooddefencealliance.com
