No insurance coverage for shop owners who were flooded

A chip shop owner whose flood-hit business is no longer insurable says he could be forced to close.

Abdul Chowdry’s shop in Mill Street, Pontypridd, was hit Storm Bert caused flooding last Sunday in town.

He said he needed to downsize after Storm Dennisin February 2020, and was unable to sell his company.

Other shop owners on Mill Street in the Rhondda Cynon Taf town said they were having to pay out of pocket to repair the damage caused by Storm Bert.

Mr Chowdry has been running the chippy for 10 years but said he felt stuck as he was unable to take out insurance or any flood protection as the recent storm caused around £10,000 worth of damage.

“I can’t sell this place,” he said.

“No one will buy it, I won’t even get what I paid for it.”

“We used to be a busy street. But in the last two to three years, business has been slow. We’re just surviving.”

“I can only have part-time staff, I can’t afford to hire anyone. I used to work eight hours a day, now I work 10 to 12 hours just to stand still.”

On Wednesday, Mr Chowdry hoped to reopen his shop, but his range was no longer functioning due to the flooding.

“In 2020, it took us six months to get back to normal,” he added.

“This time there is no insurance at all. This time the damage is not as bad, but financially we are in trouble.”

“I can’t pay the wages at the moment, I’ll have to lay off staff.”

Several other business owners moved to Mill Street when previous tenants left after Storm Dennis – and the extent of the damage last weekend came as a shock.

Jeff Baxter, 54, who runs a bookshop, said: “In a way we jumped into their grave. We knew at the time that we wouldn’t get any flood protection.”

“But with the previous floods there was talk of Storm Dennis being a ‘once in 50 year’ event.

“The rents were reasonable and cheap, so we decided to go for it.”

He said he lost about £20,000 worth of shares in the floods.

“My attitude was that we get a lot of yellow warnings and we can move past them pretty quickly,” he added.

“Everything was fine and then suddenly water started rushing through the drains.”

He continued: “It was disappointing but the pictures of people’s homes are 100 times worse. I had a warm home and books can be reprinted.”

Mr Baxter had planned to move to the larger unit two doors down from his current shop in January.

However, this will now be postponed until at least mid-March.

He said support from locals and the wider book community had been excellent, calling the situation a “wake-up call”.

“People always want to blame others, but I take responsibility. I have no floodgates, I was a bit complacent and naive,” he said.

“Faced with the effects of climate change, people want to bury their heads in the sand, they don’t want to face reality.”

However, he said a long-term solution to the insurance problem facing the road was crucial.

Mr Baxter added: “The fact that businesses are allowed to impose a blanket ban (on an area) is a problem and the only solution is government intervention.”

“It’s not that people aren’t prepared to pay, but after everything Pontypridd has been through we could use this legislative support to give ourselves a chance to help ourselves.”

Enrico Orsi, 33, who runs a small cafe with six staff, said the business he took over was “devastated” after Storm Dennis.

He was on the street when Storm Bert struck, taking deliveries that allowed him to place sandbags in place.

“If I hadn’t gotten there in time, we would have had more damage than we did, which is a relief considering we can’t get insurance for flood damage,” he said.

“I think I was lucky, I don’t think I would have stayed open if we had had more damage.”

Jayne Coleman, 59, moved into her shop in March 2022 and said Mill Street had the “unique problem” of both the drains at the front of the shops and the River Rhondda at the rear flooding.

“Most insurers don’t cover this area… (or) the premium is prohibitive,” she said.

Although some furniture and supplies were damaged, she believes she was lucky compared to her neighbors.

“The system put in place after Storm Dennis appeared to be a complete failure,” she said.

“Who is responsible?

“The blame game has already begun…But where does the money stop?”

James Payne, 31, from Your Pontypridd – a charity funded by local businesses – said it was worrying that none of the shops were insured.

“I think the first one, Storm Dennis, was so unexpected that it affected the entire city center,” he added.

“This time it’s not as bad, not as many properties are affected.”

“But we will advocate for businesses in the area to ensure they get the support they need and can get.”

Rhondda Cynon Taf council said it would offer a £1,000 community flood recovery grant for residents and businesses, as well as discretionary funding for flood defense measures, in addition to a Welsh Government scheme.

She pledged to work with all other organizations “to better understand what could or can be done to reduce risk to properties and ensure the controller can act on the findings.”

Dominic Driver, Storm Bert duty strategic manager for Natural Resources Wales (NRW), said steps were taken in the week before the adverse weather began “to ensure we are ready to tackle whatever the storm brings.” would”.

Mr Driver said a flood warning had been issued for Pontypridd on Saturday “to warn people in advance that flooding is possible and to be prepared”, as well as an additional warning on Sunday morning when “the River (Taff) reached the trigger level of the Flood warning reached”. .

He said “restoration and verification work” would now follow.

Welsh Water said the Mill Street flooding was a highway drainage issue, with responsibility falling to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.

A spokesman said the drains were overloaded.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council was contacted for comment but said in a statement on Friday it was investigating what happened.

The Met Office said it was important to note that there was a difference between its severe weather warnings and flood warnings, but added: “A full assessment of the forecast and warning strategy will take place with our partners… lessons learned will be examined as the limbs.” The chain can be improved to help the UK prepare even better for weather impacts, particularly as these will increase with climate change.”

The Welsh Government said it was offering affected households up to £1,000, adding that businesses should contact Business Wales. Further targeted support should be considered “once the impacts of Storm Bert are better understood.”

It said the UK government, which was contacted for comment, had set private insurance parameters and was not under the control of the Welsh government.