Applying for national Flood Resilience Grant now even easier in York

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York residents and businesses can now complete and submit their application for up to £5,000 flooding support at the click of a button.

The application form for the national Flood Resilience Grant is now available to complete online at www.york.gov.uk/FloodResilienceGrants and can be completed and returned electronically. The national grant provides up to £5,000 to support the resistance and resilience of property flooded as a result of Storm Desmond and Storm Eva 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 for future flood events, both to prevent flood water from entering the property and to speed the recovery if it does.

The council has already received over 70 applications for the grant, with many hundreds of queries about the funding taken.

A new case worker, jointly funded by City of York Council and Two Ridings Foundation has recently been appointed to help guide people through the grant process.

Further information about the Flood Resilience Grant is available at www.york.gov.uk/FloodResilienceGrants

More financial support available for people affected by floods

flood barrier York residents and businesses are being reminded that they could receive up to £5,000 to support the resistance and resilience of their property as part of a national package of financial support available.

The Government is providing the funding to enable local authorities to provide grants of up to £5,000 to homeowners and businesses that have been flooded as a result of Storm Desmond and Storm Eva to help fund additional flood resilience or resistance measures for their properties.

People who think they may be eligible for a grant needs to register their interest by emailing: floodresiliencegrant@york.gov.uk or calling 01904 552300.

They will then be sent:

information on steps needed to access funds
flood resilience grant application form
flood resilience grant application guidance notes
frequently asked questions

More information about the grants is available at www.york.gov.uk/FloodResilienceGrants

The update from the Two Ridings foundation, which is allocating the grants from the York Flood Appeal, has still not appeared on their web site .

The organisation promised that it would be published earlier in the week.

Floods update – Environment Agency publishes key Foss river level graph

What really happened

The Environment Agency has published the most comprehensive information of how river levels on the Foss rose during the evening of the 26th December.

Click to access

The information is likely to form a key consideration when the independent inquiry finally gets underway.

The Agency has yet to provide a convincing explanation of why some of its river level gauges failed – even before the telecoms outage occurred.

York Council admits only about 274 residents of flooded homes have received £500 cash help so far

£1 million Floods Disaster Fund pays out only £18,900 to 46 applicants

The York Council has released details of what it claims are the compensation and recovery payments it has made to the victims of the recent flooding.

The Council fails to say how many claims are in the pipeline or explain why some residents – who are apparently entitled to the £500 emergency payment – have still not received any compensation.

The Council has still not moved to clear the confusion about whether one of the most significant events in the City’s recent history will actually be discussed by senior Councillors at their Executive meeting on Thursday. The issue has not so far been added the meeting agenda

The Councils figures,

Financial support paid:
• £137,000 recovery grant paid to 274 residents (with a one-off payment of £500)
• Council Tax exemptions totalling £118,200 for 351 properties directly affected by flooding
• York’s Disaster Fund has paid out £18,900 to all 46 applicants
• Business Rates exemptions totalling £600,000 for 115 businesses directly affected by flooding
• £78,500 resilience grants paid to 38 eligible businesses.

Financial support still available:
For residents:
• York residents whose homes have been internally flooded are entitled to a £500 one-off payment via City of York Council to help support the clean-up process from Government grants.
• Residents whose homes have been flooded internally are entitled to a Council Tax exemption from 27 December 2015-31 March 2016 as a minimum. Extensions may apply where residents cannot return to their property beyond that time.
• Affected York residents on low incomes and who are not adequately insured may be eligible for help from York Disaster Fund, administered by the Two Ridings Community Foundation (TRCF) charity. TRCF launched the York Flood Appeal to increase donations to the fund.

For businesses:
• The new Business Flood Recovery Fund is expected to be in place this week with grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 available. Call 0113 348 1818 or email businessgrowth@the-lep.com to find out more.
• Up to £2,500 is available for businesses affected by the floods through the Flood Recovery Fund for businesses. Email business@makeityork.com or phone 01904 554455to make a claim.
• Businesses which were flooded can apply for an exemption to their Business Rates. Please contact the business rates team at business.rates@york.gov.uk or phone 01904 551140
• Up to £5,000 in Future Flood Prevention Funds is available for commercial property owners/people responsible for maintaining the fabric of a property that has been flooded to help prevent future flood damage. To apply, email business@makeityork.com or call 01904 554455.

For more information, please go to www.york.gov.uk/flood

NB. The Councils “Goose Management Scrutiny Review Task Group” will however be meeting tomorrow. It is unclear whether any “loss of habitat” claims have been submitted by flood affected geese.

York Flood update – Environment Agency announces dates of meetings with victims

The Environment Agency has announced a series of drop-in meetings in York for next month to help people learn more about flooding.

Rather than hosting a large, public meeting, the idea is that smaller, “one-on-one” sessions will allow people to ask bespoke questions about how the city manages rising waters.

Experts will be on hand to answer ANY questions, including why the controversial decision was taken to raise the Foss Barrier during the Boxing Day floods.

Details of meetings:

2nd February, 3 to 8 PM at Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York YO23 1NX.
4th February, 3 to 6:30 PM at New Earswick Folk Hall, Hawthorn Terrace, York, YO32 4AQ
8th February, 3 to 7:30 PM at St Aelred’s Community Centre, 216 Fifth Ave, York, YO31 0PN.
9th February, 3 to 8 PM at National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, YO1 9TL.
10th February, 3 to 8 PM at York Saint John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX.

We can only hope that the Agency has learned a few communications lessons.

They should invite written questions and make sure that the answers are published “on line” before any meetings take place.

Time at the meetings can then be concentrated on dealing with follow up questions and matters of outstanding concern.

Car park charges set to be frozen in York

Car park charges look set to be frozen across York to “help local businesses bounce back after the Boxing Day floods”.

Leaders of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Executive have announced plans to freeze charges in council-run car parks as part of next month’s 2016/17 Budget.

This means prices will be unchanged for the next 12 months at car parks including Castle, Foss Bank, Marygate, Monk Bar, Piccadilly, and St George’s Field.

Recent trends under Labour – click to enlarge

The freeze will be the first since the Council was led by the LibDems in the period up to 2011.

Car parking charges were held in check by that administration for a record seven years.

When Labour came to power, they introduced large increases. Over their four years in office, some charges nearly doubled.

In the end, the law of diminishing returns meant that the Councils parking income actually fell.

Although the freeze is likely to be generally welcomed, it fails to address immediate concerns.

We suggested a few days ago that the Council should reduce the charges at its Foss Bank “shoppers” car park at least until the end of March.

Unfortunately this idea has not been followed up.

Instead the City of York Council has confirmed that it will contribute £50,000 to a new UK-wide campaign to promote York. Tourism bosses in the city say this will be their biggest ever marketing campaign as work continues to promote York following the floods.
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Independent chair sought for flood inquiry

City of York Council is inviting applications from appropriately qualified individuals to independently chair an inquiry into the recent flooding in York.

It is doing so without any kind of debate in its democratic system (see next story).

Someone has apparently also decided what the terms of reference of the inquiry will be. Again there has been no opportunity for residents to have any input.

The Council say, “The inquiry was called by the council’s leadership earlier this month to look at how the city coped with the recent floods. The inquiry will be chaired by an independent person.

It is expected that representatives from key organisations will be asked to give their account of the floods to the inquiry team but that there will be a wider call for evidence from those who can assist the inquiry.

The criteria for the Independent Chair is to:

Provide leadership and direction to enable the effective participation in the Inquiry of those able to give information of value to it
Lead and conduct the inquiry in accordance with its terms of reference and within an agreed time frame
Produce, in conjunction with the inquiry team, a report which is thorough, comprehensive and accurate and which can be made publicly available.
Skills/experience required, are:
The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following competencies:
The ability to chair and lead an inquiry team made up of influential people
The ability to command the confidence of councillors, public and private sector agencies those in the voluntary sector and the public of York
A highly skilled public communicator on high-profile and sensitive issues
Strong analytical skills and the capacity to examine issues in an impartial way using a range of methods to engage with those able to give information of value to the inquiry
An outstanding and relevant career track record

How to apply:

The council has already received applications of interest for the role. Individuals who wish to register their interest in being on the inquiry panel, or chair, can do so by the closing date of Friday 12 February, by:

– visiting www.york.gov.uk/floodsinquiry

– calling 01904 551550

– Applications by way of a CV and supporting statement can also be sent to: Chief Executive’s Office, City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA.

About the Inquiry:

Terms of Reference for the review of the floods in York have also been established. To read these visit: www.york.gov.uk/floodsinquiry

What happens next?

The council will provide administrative support and cover reasonably incurred costs. The independent Chair will report to a meeting of the Full Council and share information with the relevant agencies.

The outcome of the inquiry will be to develop an action plan in response to the recommendations”.

Floods update – No report on York Councils next Executive agenda

New business compensation fund announced

The agenda for the next meeting of the York Councils ruling Executive committee has been published. The anticipated item on the recent floods has been omitted.

It means that confusion continues to surround the promised “public inquiry” into the causes of the flooding and the effectiveness of the response by all agencis.

There had been calls for a special meeting to be called to consider how well the Council itself had addressed the crisis. This had been “put on hold” as officials struggled to deal with remedial work

It would be a major mistake if the Councils main policy making committee at its next meeting did not at least take time to review:

How effectively the Council communicated with residents and businesses particularly over the fateful weekend of the 26^th and 27 December?
Whether flood alleviation arrangements including the distribution of sandbags was effective?
How quickly victim’s needs were assessed and how effectively they were remedied?
How well volunteer efforts were coordinated?
How the clean-up operation has gone?
How effective, and transparent, financial compensation arrangements are?

We are not out of the vulnerable winter period yet so, if refinements to emergency plans are required, then they need to be implemented in days rather than weeks.

Meanwhile the Council has announced yet another separate compensation fund for floods victims. It adds to the already bewildering range of funding channels apparently available to businesses and home owners.

The Council statement reads,

“York businesses are set to benefit from a share of a £5million flood fund, which was endorsed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Investment Committee yesterday.

The fund will help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across York and the Leeds City Region to recover from the effects of recent flooding.

Merchant Adventures Hall

Yesterday’s meeting of the Committee supported a recommendation to invest £5m from the Leeds City Region Growth Deal allocation to establish the Business Flood Recovery Fund. An initial £1.4m will be made available with the full £5m awaiting final approval by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Board at their meeting on 4 February. The new fund will be managed by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Business Flood Recovery Fund is expected to be in place by next week with grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 available. The fund could support SMEs with critical capital investment requirements such as new equipment or hire costs for machinery and premises required to recommence or maintain their operations. It could also go towards implementing internal flood resilience measures such as building a mezzanine floor to move business critical equipment to a higher point. Each application will be reviewed on a case by case basis and will need to be accompanied by a detailed flood recovery plan.

Support will be provided by the LEP’s growth managers, local authorities, Chambers of Commerce and the Manufacturing Advisory Service to help eligible businesses develop the plans and ensure business continuity over the long term.

The fund will operate under the same guidelines as the existing LEP grant funding scheme currently supporting SMEs to grow in Leeds City Region. To be eligible for funding, businesses must be an SME and from one of the LEP’s priority sectors; manufacturing, food and drink, low carbon and environmental, financial and professional services, health and life sciences and digital and creative – although discretion will apply.

The application form will be available from the LEP next week and via local authority growth managers across the region. The LEP has a package of support available to businesses looking to grow and find support to help them realise their full potential. Support for business grants and loans, skills advice, apprenticeships and export are all available through the LEP and businesses are encouraged to get in touch by calling 0113 348 1818 or emailing businessgrowth@the-lep.com to find out more.

Further information about the support available to flood affected businesses can be found at www.the-lep.com/floodsupport.

By supporting the Business Flood Recovery Fund, West Yorkshire Combined Authority is building on the existing support provided by government of up to £7,500 that has been made available to SMEs in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield, York and North Yorkshire to help companies with the immediate clean-up effort and flood resilience”.
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York Council defends flood funding policies

Arial photo of York flooding In the wake of growing concerns about the transparency of the York Floods Disaster Fund allocation processes, the York Council has issued a statement summarising what other financial assistance is available for victims.

The Council statement reads,

“York residents and businesses could receive up to £5,000 to support the resistance and resilience of their property as part of a package of financial support available.

In addition to the grant, the council is continuing to provide a raft of financial support citywide to residents and businesses.

To date, the council has helped to provide:

£137,000 recovery grant to 274 residents (with a one-off payment of £500)
Ensured 342 properties directly affected by flooding will be exempt from paying council tax, to a total value of£114,173.91
92 businesses directly affected by flooding will be exempt from paying business rates, to a total value of £416,022.11
paid out £72,000 in grants to businesses affected.

If residents or businesses would like support to talk through these options face-to-face, help is available at the council’s West Offices, Station Rise during offices hours.

Other financial support includes:
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“Make it York” publish financial performance figures

“Make it York“, the wholly Council owned QUANGO responsible for economic development activities in the City, has finally published its financial performance figures for the period up to and including November.

The figures include income from the St Nicholas Fair and Illuminating York but the cost of staging the two events are not revealed.

While the figures suggest that the company is on course to make a small surplus during the current financial year, the covering notes include a warning that the recent floods may impact on the final out-turns.

The figures are being discussed at a meeting which is taking place tomorrow (Monday) at West Offices (5:30pm). The meeting is open to members of the public.

It is expected that managers from Make it York will update the stakeholder committee on the actions that they took to help businesses that were being flooded on the evening of 26th December.

Residents will also want to know why plans to provide children’s rides at the St Nicholas Fair were abandoned?

: click to access