Paying home and business owners in flood areas grants up-front to make their properties ‘resilient’ is “common-sense and will save a lot of heartache” claims Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani.

Homes in Shaw and Saddleworth have previously been flooded, and with climate change resulting in warmer and wetter weather there is an increased likelihood of further flooding in future years. 

Councillor Al-Hamdani and his Oldham and Saddleworth Liberal Democrat councillors want to see the government do more to support home and business owners living with the risk by paying grants up-front rather than after disaster has befallen them, and they are bringing the issue as a motion to the next meeting of Oldham Council (3 November 2021).

Commenting, Saddleworth West and Lees councillor Al-Hamdani, who is proposing the motion, said:  “It is common-sense to pay property owners money up-front to make their homes and business premises ‘flood resilient’, rather than paying them afterwards when they are faced with building repairs, the replacement of lost or damaged personal effects, and an enormous clean-up.  All the evidence shows this would not only save flood victims a lot of heartache, but it will also save the public a lot of money in the longer-term.”

Shaw Councillor Chris Gloster, who is backing his colleague, added:  “We are also asking the Council to make local residents living in flood-risk areas aware of the services offered to property owners by the campaigning group ‘Know Your Flood Risk’.  The group produces several useful booklets identifying the risks and the actions people can take in advance of a flood and offers property owners individual flood risk assessments.”

The motion to the Council meeting November 3, 2021 reads:

Motion – Future proofing our properties from flooding

Council notes that:

• Climate change will result in more incidents of flooding in the UK.
• The disaster relief charity ShelterBox estimated 5 million UK homes could be at risk of flooding by 2040.
• Properties in Shaw and Saddleworth have historically been flooded.
• It is becoming increasingly difficult to build defences capable of protecting all properties at risk of flooding. 
• The campaign group ‘Know Your Flood Risk’ is calling upon central Government to make grants available to homeowners and small business owners in flood risk areas to make their properties ‘flood resilient’.
• Flood resilience means designing, building, and adapting properties such that if they are inundated, they can be made liveable again within days or weeks. This can involve actions such as rendering indoor walls, relaying flooring in water-proof materials or raising kitchen units.
• Victims of major floods are eligible for £5,000 support after the event, but Council believes that a more sensible approach would be to provide grant aid in advance to homeowners and small business owners to help make their properties flood resilient and that this would reduce the long-term cost to the public purse. Such a proposal has the support of the National Flood Forum and the Royal Institute of British Architects.
• ‘Know Your Flood Risk’ also publishes online guidance for local authorities and home and business owners and offers individual flood risk surveys for property owners. 

Council resolves to:

• Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs requesting the Minister look to introduce grant aid to homeowners and small business owners in areas of flood risk to facilitate flood resilience work.
• Ask the Chief Executive to copy in our three local MPs, the Greater Manchester Mayor and the Clerks of the Saddleworth and Shaw and Crompton Parish Councils asking for their support.
• Ask the relevant Cabinet Member and Chief Officer to ensure that information about the offer to residents and small business owners of the campaign group ‘Know Your Flood Risk’ is posted, with links, on the Council’s website, and make a request to the Saddleworth and Shaw and Crompton Parish Councils to do the same.

Proposed by:                                                                 Seconded by:

Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani                                            Councillor Chris Gloster

The campaigning group ‘Know Your Flood Risk’ can be found at https://www.landmark.co.uk/products/know-your-flood-risk/