Friday 3 January 2014

Plenty of flooding in UK, but Environment Agency to cut hundreds of jobs

At the same time as flood warning have been going out over the last few hours, the BBC reported earlier that "The Environment Agency has confirmed that jobs in flood protection in England will be cut as part of a major restructuring of the organisation. About 1,500 jobs are to be lost at the agency although it is not clear how many flood-related posts will go."

At the same time more flooding is occurring as there are high tides, especially in south west England. It will be interesting to see what happens with the job cuts at The Environment Agency. Anyway they do have plenty of useful information on their website  

Over the past few years the jml Insurance sites have gathered an amount of information including flood defence equipment here

For many people, the fact that insurance companies are not wanting their business is of great concern. There are some of course who will try and assist. Visit this page for more information

One of the companies advertising is Rentguard Insurance - back in November on this blog we ran a feature "Let us take care of your non-standard properties says Rentguard Insurance" - one of the areas covered was  "History of flooding or subsidence" More Here

Talking of Rentguard Insurance - they covered a story from the Residential landlords Association (RLA). on the media pages "Government flood bill should include landlords, says RLA"

"The Government is not doing enough to help landlords and tenants in flood affected areas, say the Residential landlords Association (RLA).

The complaint comes on the back of news that the government’s plans to ensure flood insurance is widely available do not extend to the private rental sector.

With the east coast of England recently facing some of the worst flooding in over half a century, the RLA is seeking clarifications over the bill currently going through parliament.


The “Flood Re” scheme aims to ensure that flood insurance remains affordable and available to homeowners at high risk of flooding. It was previously believed that private landlords would be included in the schemes, however recent government consultation concluded that properties would be excluded where the owner does not reside in it.

The Government document explains that properties eligible must be “used for residential purposes; have an individual premium; and be occupied by the policyholder, or their immediate family.”

RLA policy director Richard Jones has now written to the environment secretary Owen Paterson MP seeking urgent clarification on the matter, saying: “This is an extremely disturbing development and poses significant threats to the on-going viability of those areas where there is a significant risk of flooding. Insurance may not be obtainable at all or only obtainable on prohibitive terms. It could place landlords in breach of the terms of their mortgages.”

“The Government is looking to support private rented housing but this will have the opposite effect.” he adds."

Rentguard provides Landlord and Tenant Insurance as well Find out more Here

Meanwhile across  the Irish Sea the picture was not too good on Friday -THE IRISH TIMES Flood warnings issued for major cities


Dublin, Cork and Galway could all be at risk of flooding at high tides today -Weather warnings of tidal surges and floods have been issued for the cities of Dublin, Cork and Galway as the stormy conditions of the past week show no sign of abating.




IRISH EXAMINER

Cork City on flood alert after River Lee breaks its banks


Parts of Cork City flooded last night as Met Éireann issued weather warnings for several parts of the country.

Amid high tides and heavy rain, the River Lee broke its banks in Cork City. The affected areas included the South Mall, South Terrace, sections of Oliver Plunkett St, Pembroke St, Rutland St, Kyrls Quay, Morrison’s Island, Father Mathew St, Union Quay, and Sharman Crawford St. A number of parked cars on Father Matthew St were left flooded, with Gardaí placing a number of road and street diversions at various points across the city. Carrigaline village and parts of Midleton also suffered flooding.

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