People affected by floods in Rutland can apply for financial help

People affected by recent flooding can apply for financial assistance.

Rutland County Council has launched a flood relief scheme for homes hit by storms Babet and Henk.

The Government announced details of its flood relief funding last month. To be eligible, areas needed to have more than 50 homes flooded as a direct result of the storm. Rutland did not meet the threshold.

In the absence of national funding, Rutland County Council has launched its own scheme for residents affected by Storm Babet or Storm Henk.

Those forced to leave their homes will receive 100% of their council tax discounted for up to three months. Applications must be made by March 15.

Coun Andrew Johnson, deputy leader of Rutland County Council and cabinet member for finance, said: “Storms Babet and Henk caused damage and disruption to large parts of the UK, leaving lots of people in need of help due to flooding.

“The Government’s threshold for national flood relief dealt Rutland a particularly poor hand.

“We can’t access the funding that’s available to many other areas, including our nearest neighbours in Leicestershire, because of an arbitrary requirement to have at least 50 homes affected. This is clearly wrong. National relief schemes for severe weather incidents should treat all areas equally and fairly.

“To make sure Rutland residents are not disadvantaged by this, we’ve introduced our own locally funded relief scheme for anyone forced to leave their home due to the recent storm flooding. We hope this will help families who are still getting back on their feet.”

Households already known to have been affected by Storm Henk flooding are being contacted directly by Rutland County Council, so they can submit information and evidence to apply for a council tax discount.

Eligible properties must have been flooded internally between October 16 and 26 because of Storm Babet, or between January 2 and 12 because of Storm Henk, with flood water making the property unliveable for more than 48 hours. Second homes, empty homes, holiday lets, business premises, flooded gardens, outbuildings and garages are ineligible.

To apply email enquiries@rutland.gov.uk or call 01572 722 577.