Hard-hitting letter presses Government to release flooding cash

Published: Thu 9 January, 2025

Councils across Leicestershire and Rutland are joining forces to press the Government to release cash to help flood-hit residents. 

A hard-hitting letter signed by the leaders of local authorities calls for cash now to support those forced to leave their homes and urges a national flooding shake up. 

The move comes as the number of homes flooded on Monday night (6 January) hits 630 and continues to rise – surpassing numbers seen during Storm Henk 12 months ago - and includes 240 in Leicester, 170 in Blaby District, 70 in Charnwood and 55 in Melton Borough. 

The letter – sent to Minister for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy MP - stresses the devastating impact on residents and businesses. 

It says: “This is the second year in a row where hundreds of residents are left homeless and local pubs, sports clubs and others do not know if they will be able to survive. Many are cleaning up after just getting on their feet after Storm Henk battered the area just 12 months ago. Residents sought shelter and support a in emergency rest centres, many with just the clothes they were wearing. It is a torrid situation.  

“The right thing is for Government to release funding now and activate the Flood Recovery Framework to help them survive and get back to some kind of normality.” 

Emergency services, councils, NHS, voluntary agencies and worked round the clock to keep people safe and declared a major incident. During the response: 

• Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Services received 380 calls, rescued more than 60 people from properties and 27 from cars by boat
• Leicestershire Police handled over 2,100 calls on 6 January - a 40 to 50 per cent rise on average daily demand
• East Midlands Ambulance Service declared a critical incident because of the demand in the region
• The Environment Agency issued a highly unusual severe flood warning, indicating ‘risk to life’ 
• Over 160 roads flooded
• People were evacuated from a caravan park in Barrow upon Soar
• An emergency alert was issued due to the imminent threat to life - one of the only times this has been used in the UK 

The letter also calls on Government to drive national changes, including help for homeowners to make properties more flood resilient, support for businesses to get insurance and a new national communications campaign. 

It states: “Our climate is changing and we need a new approach. We are seeing far more frequent events, causing greater impact and affecting areas never historically known to flood. National changes to funding and powers are required to help us better prevent and then react to flooding when it does occur. 

“Flooding is one of the biggest threats to our communities and needs propelling to the top of the agenda.  Government needs to step up and lead the conversation on how we collectively up our game in tacking flooding.” 

With freezing temperatures, residents are urged to take extra care as surface water turns to ice. Gritters are out and about but take extra care and stick to gritted routes: 

• Plan your journey before travelling. Maps indicating slower travel time could be due to flood water blocking the road.
• If you see flood water blocking your route, do not drive through it, as this is often deeper than you think. Do not go around road closure signs, find an alternative route.
• If you get stuck and it's an emergency, call 999 and contact your car insurance provider and recovery service if required.

Related Documents (1)

• Letter to Minister for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy MP - 09.01.25 (PDF Document, 0.13 Mb)