Pontypridd Street Businesses Uninsurable After Repeated Flooding

An owner of a chip shop, whose enterprise on Mill Street in Pontypridd has become uninsurable due to recurrent flooding, indicates he might have to cease operations. Abdul Chowdry’s establishment was impacted by flooding in the town last Sunday, caused by Storm Bert. He previously stated that he had to reduce the size of his business following Storm Dennis in February 2020, which also rendered him unable to sell it. Other business proprietors on Mill Street, located in the Rhondda Cynon Taf town, have reported that they will need to personally finance the repairs for the damage inflicted by Storm Bert. Mr. Chowdry, who has operated the chip shop for a decade, expressed a feeling of being trapped because he is unable to secure insurance or any flood coverage, with the recent storm incurring approximately £10,000 in damages. He stated, “I can’t sell this place. No-one will buy it, I won’t even get what I paid for it.” He further elaborated on the street’s decline, saying, “We used to be a busy street. But the last two to three years business is slow. We are just about surviving. I can only have part-time staff, 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.” By Wednesday, Mr. Chowdry had anticipated reopening his business, but the floodwater had rendered his cooking range inoperable. He additionally remarked, “In 2020, it took six months to get back to normal. This time, there is no insurance at all. There’s not as much damage this time but, financially, we are in trouble. I can’t pay the wages at the moment, I will have to let staff go.” A number of other business proprietors relocated to Mill Street following the departure of previous tenants in the aftermath of Storm Dennis, and the scale of the damage experienced last weekend was unexpected. Jeff Baxter, 54, who operates a bookshop, commented, “In a way we jumped in their grave. At the time, we were aware that we won’t get flood cover. But the talk during the previous floods was that storm Dennis was a ‘once-in-a-50-years’ kind of event. The rents were reasonable and cheap, so we went with it.” He reported losing approximately £20,000 worth of inventory due to the floods. He further stated, “My attitude was that we get a lot of yellow warnings and they can pass over quite quickly. It was all fine and then suddenly water started shooting through the drains.” He proceeded to say: “It was gutting, but the pictures of people’s homes are 100 times worse. I had a warm home to go to, and books can be reprinted.” Mr. Baxter had intended to relocate to a larger premises situated two doors from his current shop in January. However, this move has now been postponed until at least mid-March. He mentioned that the assistance from local residents and the broader book community had been outstanding, describing the circumstances as a “wake-up call.” He remarked, “People always want to blame other people, but I take responsibility. I don’t have flood gates, I’ve been a little bit complacent and naïve. With the effects of climate change, people want to bury their heads in the sand, they don’t want to face reality.” Nevertheless, he emphasized the critical need for a lasting resolution to the insurance predicament affecting the street. Mr. Baxter further stated: “The fact companies get to put a blanket ban [on an area] is a problem and the only solution is government intervention. It’s not that people are not prepared to pay but, after all Pontypridd has gone through, we could use that legislative support to give us a chance to help ourselves.” Enrico Orsi, 33, who manages a small cafe with six staff members, noted that the business he acquired had been “devastated” following Storm Dennis. He was present on the street when Storm Bert struck, receiving deliveries, which enabled him to deploy sandbags. He commented, “If I hadn’t been there on time, we would’ve had more damage than we did, which given that we can’t get insurance for flood damage is a relief. I think I got lucky, I don’t think I would’ve been able to stay open if we had had more damage.” Jayne Coleman, 59, who established her home store in March 2022, clarified that Mill Street faces the “unique problem” of inundation originating from both the drains at the front of the premises and the River Rhondda at the back. She stated, “Most insurers don’t cover this area… [or] the premium is prohibitive.” Although some furniture and inventory sustained damage, she considers herself fortunate in comparison to her neighbors. She remarked, “The system that had been put in place after Storm Dennis all seemed to fail. Who’s responsible? The blame game has already started… But where does the buck stop?” James Payne, 31, representing Your Pontypridd – a not-for-profit entity financed by local enterprises – expressed concern that none of the shops possessed insurance. He added, “I think the first one, Storm Dennis, was so unexpected, it affected all of the town centre. It’s not as bad this time, not as many properties impacted. But we will be working for the businesses in the area to make sure they have all the support they need and can get.” The Rhondda Cynon Taf council announced its intention to provide a £1,000 Community Flood Recovery Grant, supplementing a Welsh government initiative, for both residents and businesses, alongside discretionary funding for flood-prevention strategies. The council pledged to collaborate with all other organizations “to better understand what could or can be done to reduce the risk to properties and ensure that whoever is responsible can act on the findings.” Dominic Driver, the Storm Bert duty strategic manager for Natural Resources Wales (NRW), stated that preparations were made in the week preceding the onset of the severe weather, “to ensure we were ready to tackle whatever the storm would bring.” Mr. Driver indicated that a flood alert for Pontypridd was disseminated on Saturday, “giving people advance warning that flooding was possible, and to be prepared,” with a further warning issued on Sunday morning when “the river [Taff] reached the flood warning trigger level.” He confirmed that “recovery and review work” would commence subsequently. During an appearance on Politics Wales, Huw Irranca-Davies, the cabinet secretary for climate change, was questioned regarding the adequacy of NRW’s funding to address demand. He responded that the organization had received record funding. He also highlighted financial allocations for various initiatives and community engagement. He added, “One of the key things with communities, homes and businesses is how can we do those clever interventions so that people can be back on their feet rapidly in their homes, and in their businesses.” A spokesperson for Welsh Water stated: “We sympathise and appreciate the frustration of businesses on Mill Street who experienced flooding as a result of Storm Bert. With over a month’s rainfall in a short period, our sewers remained clear and operated as designed. While the sewers did not cause any flooding, we know that wider drainage networks were overwhelmed during the event and we will continue to work with Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and other agencies on how best to manage future flooding events.” The Rhondda Cynon Taf council was requested to provide a statement, and on Friday, it issued a comment indicating that it was reviewing the incident. The Met Office emphasized the distinction between its severe weather warnings and flood alerts, but further stated: “A full assessment of the forecast and warning strategy will take place with our partners… lessons learned will look at how links in the chain can be improved to help the UK prepare even more for weather impacts especially as they will increase with climate change.” The Welsh government announced it was providing up to £1,000 to affected households, advising businesses to contact Business Wales, with additional specialized assistance to be evaluated “as the impact of Storm Bert becomes better understood.” It clarified that the UK government, which has been approached for comment, establishes the parameters for private insurance, a matter outside the Welsh government’s jurisdiction. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding its approach to external linking is available.