Five months on from the December floods, North Yorkshire’s residents and businesses are being reminded that they may be eligible for grants and financial support to help them recover from the floods.
The Government is providing funding to enable both the district and county councils to provide grants to residents and businesses, which include funding of up to £5,000 to support the resistance and resilience of their property, as part of a national package of financial support available.
The resilience grant will enable those who have been flooded to better prepare their homes and businesses for flood events, both to prevent flood water entering the property and to speed the recovery if it does.
Anyone who thinks that they may be eligible for a grant should visit the North Yorkshire County Council website, www.northyorks.gov.uk/flooding, and complete the flood resilience and repair grant application form online. Alternatively, hard copies of the forms, and help with completing your application, can be requested by contacting the county council on 01609 780780.
Councillor Carl Les, Leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “These grants are available to help people and businesses protect their properties from any future flooding and it’s important that anyone who thinks they are eligible apply. I would urge them to get in touch to find out.
“We know that recovering from these events is a very difficult process, so we want to encourage as many people as possible to get all the support they need.”
The North Yorkshire flood appeal, set up by the Two Ridings Community Foundation, is also appealing for residents affected by flooding to apply for funding. The funds from the appeal are to benefit people living in North Yorkshire. The appeal has raised about £222,000.
The fund is to help individuals or families whose properties and belongings were damaged by flooding or who are suffering other hardship as a result of the flooding. Typically, initial hardship grants are a few hundred pounds but may be more in exceptional circumstances.
The appeal would not normally fund businesses, but may consider small business owners or employees facing hardship due to lost work or income because of storm or flood. The fund is not designed to replace income, but may be able to consider cases of hardship. It also aims to help voluntary and community groups, charities and other not-for-profit organisations that have suffered loss due to flooding or may be experiencing an increase in demand for services as a result of providing support to people affected. More information can be found at www.trcf.org.uk/grant/northyorks-flood-appeal-fund
There is also a national scheme designed to help provide better access to affordable home insurance for those in high flood-risk areas across the UK. Flood RE represents a long-term, sustainable approach to providing home insurance for those at flood risk. It is important that people in a high flood-risk area shop around for the best insurance policy. Find out more at www.floodre.co.uk.
There is advice on understanding flood risk from the National Flood Forum and its website, www.nationalfloodforum.org.uk, sets out a step-by-step process for householders and links to a range of other sources of information, including the Blue Pages, which list flood products and service providers. Information is also available from the Government at www.gov.uk.