Message sent on behalf of Matt Holford, Head of Environmental Services
In late February, South Derbyshire District Council announced the availability of government funding for owners of properties in South Derbyshire affected by flooding in February for up to £5,000 for a Flood Resilience Recovery Support Scheme – https://www.southderbyshire.gov.uk/news/2020/feb/support-available-for-south-derbyshire-residents-affected-by-flooding
By way of an update, in the immediate aftermath of the floods we had reason to believe that up to 80 properties in various towns and villages across the District could have been flooded.
We have since made contact either in person, by letter or by email with the occupiers of all of these properties to make them aware of the details of the scheme.
To date we have received 17 applications. These are being processed and we hope that this will result in significant improvements in the future flood resilience of these properties as well as their ability to recover if they are ever flooded again. However, if the estimated number of flooded properties was correct then we have received applications from less than a quarter of the people who could qualify for this scheme.
Could I take this opportunity to ask you to remind your constituents of the availability of the scheme?
If you have constituents who were affected by the floods and have either not received or not submitted an application, then please encourage them to do so by contacting the Council’s Environmental Health service at environmental.health@southderbyshire.gov.uk
The Scheme is available for properties where the habitable living or business areas of properties were damaged by floodwater, although there are certain exclusions such as damage to garages, outhouses and storage areas, empty and second homes.
We know that some householders are nervous about making applications thinking that it will affect their insurance cover.
Any information given to us will be held in the strictest confidence.
I would be grateful if you would share this information with relevant members of your community.
All the very best and please look after yourselves.