Calderdale Council is looking for people whose homes flooded in December 2015 to come forward to apply for extra grants for flood protection work, and to be involved in promoting this work to other residents.
Four homeowners from across Calderdale will be able to benefit from the £5000 Repair and Renewal grant, the £1000 Community Foundation grant and a further £10,000 grant per home from the Council’s £3 million programme for flood prevention and resilience work.
People who own and live in their own homes are invited to apply for the additional grant funding to make their properties as resilient as possible against future flood risk.
The four successful applicants will be able to access a wide-ranging package of flood resilience work that will be identified and prioritised through an independent flood survey. Once carried out, the work will help to make homes quicker, easier and cheaper to clean, dry out and repair if they are affected again, and also help to minimise the disruption and distress caused by flood damage.
In return for the additional grant funding, the successful applicants will need to agree to hold future public open days to talk about and showcase the flood resilience work that has been carried out in their homes. They will feature as case studies in future marketing and promotional activity including press releases, social media and the Council’s web site.
An independent flood surveyor will work on all four homes and develop and agree a schedule of works with the owners. The works will be carried out in 2017.
Homeowners who are interested in applying are asked to contact Richard Armitage in the Council’s Home Improvement Service for an initial discussion on 01422 392474.
Cllr Tim Swift, Calderdale Council’s Leader, said:
“Over 2000 homes were flooded on Boxing Day 2015. We are determined to do all we can to minimise the damage caused by any future flooding, so that people are as protected as possible and can bounce back more quickly.
“We have already received over 1,100 applications from property owners looking to better safeguard their homes, with nearly £3 million paid out in grants and Council Tax discounts so far. We are pleased to be offering a new, unique opportunity for four homeowners to benefit from extra funding for further works – not only so we can help those residents, but so they can help us to get the message out to other local people about how they can adapt their homes to reduce the risk and impact of future flood damage.
“We welcome applications from people who are willing to make their homes available for four public open days per year; to give their time to document their flood resilience and protection works; and to feature as case studies in Council communications like press releases and social media.”