A FLOOD monitor in Northwich says the effects of the 2021 floods are still being felt one year on.

Jerry Marshall is a member of the River Weaver Navigation Society and a Sandy Lane Flood Monitor.

He said: “A year on, some Sandy Lane residents are still waiting to get back into their homes.

“Some residents are elderly and frail, some have young children, some moved in just a few months before Storm Christoph and were assured, like all of us, that as the River Weaver is a canalised waterway, it doesn’t flood.”

Jerry, who lives in the Sandy Lane area, helped evacuate neighbours during the January 2021 floods.

He said he was ‘incredibly fortunate’ his own home escaped flooding by the small matter of an inch.

Jerry previously said he was frustrated with the Government for not activating its Property and Flood Resistance grants, which has meant the owners of flooded properties in January were denied access to much-needed £5,000 grants.

He said: “The uninsured costs are massive – residents are forking out up to £200,000 for flood resilience. Others simply can’t afford it and dread the next storm.

“The Government provides Property Flood Resilience grants of £5,000, but DEFRA say Storm Christoph was not serious enough for the 31 properties flooded in Acton Bridge and Weaverham alone to qualify.”

Jerry added: “The long term solution is to develop natural flood defences upstream on the Weaver and Dane, to spread out the flow from extreme rainfall.

“Funding for prevention, rather than barrier, is needed and whoever controls the navigational assets on the Weaver must also be a Flood Risk Management Authority.

A report which went before Cheshire West and Chester Council’s cabinet meeting last summer revealed the extent of the impact.

These are some of the key figures from across the borough:

  • 244 homes were affected n 92 commercial properties were affected, including 60 in Northwich
  • 152 properties were flooded
  • 128 people were evacuated
  • The council’s contact centre handled more than 1,300 calls about flooding
  • Affected residents were placed in emergency accommodation
  • There were a ‘significant number’ of road and bridge closures
  • The report said the cost to the council of responding to Storm Christoph totalled £487,000