On Tuesday, the Council launched the £1,000 Community Flood Recovery Grant for residents and businesses that had been internally flooded during Storm Bert. Since then, 192 applications have been received. Council staff are also visiting impacted residents to help them apply and provide other support.
We urge people to visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/FloodingHelp to check if they are eligible and to apply. We will also use the details provided to us by impacted residents to make the Welsh Government payment.
We ask people to apply so we have the correct bank details for those impacted so payments can be processed as quickly as possible, but also so we can provide additional support such as council tax and business rate exemptions and arrange collection of damaged items from properties with no on-street skips. Also, there may be isolated incidents of internal flooding that have not been reported to us. It's important that people in those properties have access to the range of support.
A significant amount of debris and material has been deposited by Storm Bert, washed down from the hills and mountains that surround us.
Our Flood Risk Management team is continuing to investigate where flooding has occurred. It has so far confirmed that around 249 properties have been affected by internal flooding. As a Council, we are responsible for managing flood risk from surface water through our drains and gullies, and small watercourses which we manage through council-owned culverts. Meanwhile, Natural Resources Wales is responsible for river flood defences, warnings, and alerts.
The Council Leader met today with the Met Office to discuss concerns about the weather warnings issued before Storm Bert. On record, the Council would like to thank the Met Office for seeking to meet with the Council so swiftly in response to the flooding experienced across Rhondda Cynon Taf on Sunday.
Yesterday, Council Leader Councillor Andrew Morgan met with representatives from Natural Resources Wales to raise residents' concerns that flood warnings were issued too late on Sunday.
Our legal duty is to investigate all flooding incidents, whether flooding results from river flooding, privately maintained watercourses, or council-maintained drains and culverts.
Due to the damage caused to Ynysangharad War Memorial Park, the park will NOT be open before the end of next week at the very earliest. This is to allow for essential repairs, including:
- Remove and clean up significant amounts of dirt and debris deposited all over the park, including its paths, buildings and furniture.
- Clean up of Lido Play and replace equipment contaminated by flood water.
- Replacement of the safety fencing that runs alongside the River Taff between the new Llys Cadwyn Bridge and the old M&S Bridge.
The multi-use sports area and bowls area need extensive repairs. This is likely to take some time. This area will be fenced off for work to continue when the park re-opens.
Thanks to the efforts of Lido staff on Sunday morning using flood gates and pumps, Lido Ponty has not suffered the same severe level of damage caused by Storm Dennis. Pools are being drained and cleaned, filtration systems are being tested, and the site is having a deep clean. At this stage, we remain hopeful that the annual Boxing Day swim will still be possible and the venue can re-open.
However, as repair work is continuing, the planned ticket release date for Boxing Day and New Year's Day swims has been postponed. Keep an eye on Lido Ponty's socials for more information. We will review the situation in the coming days and provide further updates on the potential re-opening of the park and Lido next week.
Construction of the Feeder Pipe Footbridge replacement has been halted following Storm Bert. The original bridge pipes, piers, and temporary scaffolding were washed away during the storm. We will assess the project and next steps. The main part of the new bridge structure is being constructed away from the site and had yet to be lifted into place.
We are engaging constructively with Welsh Government to secure funding to upgrade and improve culverts and other assets and repair damage. We have spent over £100 million on such improvements since Storm Dennis and are pleased that the majority of this newly installed and upgraded infrastructure held out and protected a large number of properties that would have otherwise been flooded, we will continue at pace with further works to other culverts and have already discussed the funding required for this with the Welsh Government.
While it is impossible to prevent flooding during significant rainfall, there is much more we want to do to ensure that we can reduce the risk to our communities where we have the opportunity.
Posted on 29/11/2024