Morpeth flood repair costs have risen to £40m

Jan 1 2009 by Dave Black, The Journal

THE cost of the Morpeth floods has hit £40m – with 1,000 people still kept from returning to their homes.

Hundreds of families, pensioner couples and single people remain in temporary accommodation around Morpeth, Northumberland, more than three months after the town was deluged when the River Wansbeck burst its banks.

And the estimated cost of repairs to the market town now stands at up to £40m.

Many of the families flooded out of their homes on September 6 face a wait of months before they can return.

Council bosses will decide next month whether the homelessness problem caused by the catastrophe requires them to open up temporary caravan parks.

Castle Morpeth Council has submitted a formal bid to the Government for £250,000 to cover its relief and clean-up costs, but hopes to secure a further £300,000 because of the scale of the recovery efforts required to get the town back to normal.

About 900 homes were flooded in Morpeth, the worst such incident since records began, with personal belongings and furniture ruined and properties coated with a thick, brown sludge.

It is estimated that around 760 private homes were affected, along with 140 owned by Castle Morpeth Housing, resulting in more than 2,000 people having to move out and into temporary accommodation.

Now it is believed that fewer than half of them have been able to move back in, leaving more than 1,000 away from home at Christmas.

Scores of businesses in the town were also flooded, although most of them have now reopened with the help of a £500,000 relief fund provided by One North East.

The recovery efforts have been spearheaded by Trevor Walker, Castle Morpeth Council’s head of neighbourhoods, regeneration and culture, who at one point was working full-time on the flooding crisis along with 60 members of the authority’s 200-strong workforce.

He said: “We expect some people to be out of their homes for another four or five months yet.

“What has absolutely blown myself and everyone else away is the way in which the voluntary organisations in Morpeth have come together to help those affected.

“The Red Cross has been absolutely magnificent and the whole community effort magnificent.

“I believe we will see a renaissance in the town, along with the Back Riggs retail development when the new shops starting opening next year.

“I think by next Christmas, Morpeth will be as good as it ever was, and a bit better.”

Page 2: Boat rescue family spend Christmas in rented house