Doncaster councillor in flood-hit ward reflects one year on

A councillor who represents a Doncaster area devastated by flooding this time last year says the town needs more money for flood defences because affected residents still fight for insurance payouts.
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Coun Jane Nightingale who represents Bentley, said more resources are needed on top of the work the Environment Agency are carrying out along the River Don.

It’s roughly 12 months on since hundreds of homes across parts of the borough were delugued after the Don burst its banks following heavy and consistent rainfall.

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Residents have been supporting each other, they've been brilliant with each other and helped each other along in these trying times,” Coun Nightingale said.

Archive picture from November 8, 2019. The RLNI and fire rescue officers pictured rescuing a man with one leg from a property on Yarborough Terrace on a flooded estate in Bentley, Doncaster after the River Don Burst its banks.   Picture Tony JohnsonArchive picture from November 8, 2019. The RLNI and fire rescue officers pictured rescuing a man with one leg from a property on Yarborough Terrace on a flooded estate in Bentley, Doncaster after the River Don Burst its banks.   Picture Tony Johnson
Archive picture from November 8, 2019. The RLNI and fire rescue officers pictured rescuing a man with one leg from a property on Yarborough Terrace on a flooded estate in Bentley, Doncaster after the River Don Burst its banks. Picture Tony Johnson

“However, insurance companies have been an absolute nightmare. We’ve still got some residents only starting the process of repairing the homes.

“Residents have been seriously affected by this wrangling, it’s been a real battle.

“Obviously the flood resilience work does help, whether it's enough though, we can only hope we never have to put it to the test.”

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Around 1870 households across the borough were given support and advice in the early weeks after flooding, with 689 of these given ‘see and solve’ help to follow up on specific issues, according to council bosses.

Under the Government’s Property Flood Resilience scheme, owners of flooded properties can claim up to £5,000 to fund flood resilience and resistance measures at their home.

Appropriate measures are identified through a survey at the property and include measures such as replacing doors with flood doors, moving electrical sockets higher up, sealing access points and fitting air brick covers and non-return valves.

Overall, there are 810 Doncaster properties situated in 16 wards believed to be eligible for the PFR scheme operated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

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In total, 360 of these are in Bentley and 192 in Norton & Askern. The next highest numbers are 50 in Roman Ridge, 42 in Wheatley & Intake and 41 in Conisbrough.

In terms of flood defences, the Environment Agency and the council are undertaking works along the Don to shore up defences.

But Coun Nightingale added: “We need more money and we need better protection, it’s as simple as that.

“For people, it is always going to be an issue in this area in terms of flooding - it’s in a high risk zone but there are better defences up and down the country.

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“We need to protect areas like mine as well as what Sheffield and Rotherham has.

“We need it sorted. I want this for Doncaster and I want it sorted for this community.”

On the work the council is doing and has done already, Coun Nightingale said: “The council did what they could, yeah they could have been better.

“I'm doing what I can to keep these residents informed, working with them daily, being there, on the end of the phone if they've got a problem, at the end of an email, just contact me and I'll do what I can.

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“I'm being the liaison between the council and the residents at times. The council’s communities team were very focused and they were on the ball but obviously the Covid-19 situation, we've hugely been impacted by the situation.”

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