More support for RCT businesses flooded during Storm Bert

More financial support has been announced for businesses affected by flooding in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) following last month’s Storm Bert. RCT Council declared a major incident as a result of severe rain and flooding caused by Storm Bert on November 23 and 24.

While the costs of immediate recovery and repair are still being calculated as the scale of the incident is still being assessed, an immediate allocation of £500,000 was made from the council’s general reserves to support the recovery, including a community flood recovery grant (hardship payment) made available for residents and businesses who had suffered internal flooding. The council is continuing to engage with Welsh Government over funding but in the interim it agreed that a further £500,000 is made from the council’s general reserves in order to ensure there is enough immediately available to continue the recovery and to cover the initial targeted resilience across businesses in RCT. To get all the latest daily Wales Online news straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Half of that £500,000 is set aside to support a business flood resilience grant fund to support businesses (small and medium sized enterprises) to put in place anti-flood measures which would improve their resilience to deal with any potential future significant weather events.

This might include:

• Doors (internal and floodgates to doorways)
• Water-resistant floor coverings and skirting (for example tiling)
• Internal moisture-resistant wall boarding or tiles
• Raising of power points

A grant up to £10,000 would be available per business (SME). The council’s director of prosperity and development will be responsible for putting in place the arrangements for the administration of the scheme, including the basis of eligibility and assessment.

The deputy chief executive and the director of finance will continue to be responsible for the ongoing co-ordination and recording of all costs associated with the incident and ensuring the appropriate arrangements for their funding. There is a major incident recovery board to ensure a council-wide approach to deliver services and prioritise resources in relation to any major incident which causes a detrimental effect to the communities of RCT.

The recovery board led business continuity planning in the immediate period following the storm.