Woman spends own money on flood defences after grant delay

Anna Simpson, 50, lives at the bottom of Avon Terrace with her teenage daughter and pets.

They were forced to move out of their home after Storm Henk struck at the start of the year, causing the Summerlock Stream at the bottom of her garden to burst its banks, flooding their entire ground floor.

It took until July for them to be able to move back into their house, having spent six weeks living in a one-bedroom Airbnb on Fisherton Street before moving into a neighbour's house, which had flooded to a lesser extent.

Shortly after the storm, Anna applied to through Wiltshire Council to access the government's Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme.

Storm Henk arrived in Salisbury in January (Image: Anna Simpson) The grant was designed to give eligible flood-hit property owners up to £5,000 to make their homes and businesses more resilient to future flooding.

Under the scheme, a specialist surveyor would be sent to those homes to write a report, and then an approved contractor would be paid to carry out their recommendations.

But due to a nationwide shortage of qualified surveyors, Anna's home was only looked at in October, and she is yet to be sent her report – so she took matters into her own hands to protect her home, worried more storms would hit.

She is yet to receive the bill for the work but expects it to cost thousands of pounds and has called for the authorities to reimburse her and others in similar situations.

Anna has so far been unable to access grant funding (Image: Anna Simpson) “The whole of my ground floor was flooded, and the house next door,” said Anna.

“It flooded at about 7pm, and it happened very fast. The garden and the driveway were under a good foot of water.

“The plasterboard sucked up all the water and it went under the floorboards. The kitchen had to come out and the flooring had to come up, and then it had to be dried out.

“The winter passed and the summer came, and I emailed and emailed. I’ve had to spend a lot of my own money.

“There’s £5,000 sitting there somewhere that should be paying for these things. It should be reimbursed. I’ve just had to go ahead with it. The risk is too high.

“During Storm Bert, all of us residents were watching the water rise and rise. We’re living in a state of jeopardy.

“The flood defence [the new River Park scheme] has worked this time, but the water was really high – flooding is still a possibility.

“The frustration is the inability to get hold of that money in a timely way. I just feel like a sitting duck.”

Flooding in Salisbury after Storm Henk (Image: Mike Boss, Somerset Camera Club) Cllr Nick Holder, Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for highways, said: “Homes or business significantly impacted by flooding from Storm Babet in October 2023 or Storm Henk in January this year were able to apply for government grant funding.

“The government stipulated that a survey should be carried out by a specialist property flood resilience (PFR) surveyor.

“We became aware that nationally and locally, home and business owners were struggling to find qualified surveyors to carry out these surveys or that costs far exceed the grant allowance.

“In response to a national shortage of PFR surveyors, Wiltshire Council has worked with our consultants and their approved surveyors to carry out the surveys.

“Surveys are now being undertaken on successful grant applications, and reports are being prepared or have already been issued.

“Anna Simpson’s property was surveyed end of October.

“The PFR surveyors will send her the report soon. Upon completion of flood prevention resilience works recommended, a claim for payment of the grant can be made.”