Householders affected by the July floods will each receive a £250 grant from the Vale of White Horse District Council. The Council will be using the Government’s definition of flooded properties to determine eligibility, which is floodwater inside homes.
The Government has announced that the Vale will receive a total £250,000 in emergency recovery grant to help flood-hit members of the community.
Any remaining balance will be invested in capital schemes to protect against future flooding.
Vale Leader Cllr Jerry Patterson has agreed the fairest way of distributing the money was to give every affected household the same amount. He took the decision following unanimous advice from an advisory group of Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors.
So far the Vale has recorded more than 600 flooded homes and this figure could increase. Officers are visiting all villages and towns in the Vale to identify flooded homes. Councillors are also being asked to forward any details to the Council of any homes affected.
Each household recorded as being affected will be sent an application form for the grant and payment will be made to the bank account of the person responsible for paying the Council Tax. Any householder who believes that they may be entitled to this grant who has not received a letter inviting them to apply within the next week should contact the Council on 01235 520202.
Cllr Patterson said: “This is both the fairest and the simplest way of distributing the money. We hope it goes some way towards helping people at this difficult time. We will also be looking at ideas to protect areas and homes from flooding in the future – as the Council’s funds are limited we will be looking for schemes which would attract investment from other agencies or for demonstration projects.”
The Red Cross Relief Fund should also soon start to distribute awards, so the application form includes a section for those people who believe they are in particular hardship. This information will be passed on to the Red Cross for consideration.
