The York Council is spending over £400,000 refurbishing Council houses, flats and amenity blocks.

The works included stripping out of damaged fittings, skirting’s, doors, kitchen units, baths, flooring, non-licensed asbestos; preparatory works in advance of drying; installation of kitchens, bathrooms and flooring following drying.

The amenity blocks serve the James Street traveller site. The contractor, appointed in January, was Gentoo Tolent Ltd. The decision was marked as “key” but was kept secret by the Council for over 2 months.

Only around half of the expenditure will be covered by insurance

Separately a Leeds company – Trustheat Ltd – was appointed to undertake an accelerated programme of “drying works” to Council properties.

A Council report, written in February but only published last week, said, “an accelerated programme of drying to flooded council properties to facilitate the earliest return of residents to their homes, as after 6 weeks of using traditional methods of drying (dehumidifiers and fan heaters) flooded properties were still saturated, with implications for residents and future maintenance of the affected buildings. This process allowed for a 4-5-day drying period”.

Meanwhile residents, and those who donated to the York Flood (Disaster) Fund, are still waiting for an update on how their money has been spent. The last report was published in January. The Fund has £1.3 million available to help victims