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Last weekend, Mill Street in Pontypridd was flooded for the second time since Storm Dennis in February 2020. Abdul Chowdry, the owner of a local chip shop, faced £10,000 of damages to his business due to flooding caused by Storm Bert. He may be forced to shut down as he cannot get insurance or any flood cover. After Storm Dennis he had to downsize and was left unable to sell his business. Other shop owners on Mill Street have said they will have to pay out of their own pockets to recover from the damage.
Another shop owner, Jeff Baxter, 54, who runs a bookshop, said that the rents were cheap, so he moved to Mill Street when previous tenants left after Storm Dennis. However, after this storm, he lost about £20,000-worth of stock in the floods. While he had planned to move to a larger unit two doors down from his current shop in January, this move will now be delayed to at least mid-March. He said the support of locals and the wider book community had been excellent.
Enrico Orsi, 33, who runs a small cafe with six employees, said the business he took over from was “devastated” after Storm Dennis. He was present on the street when Storm Bert hit, which allowed him to put sandbags in place and limit the damages caused by flooding. However, the difficulty in securing flood insurance leaves him in a precarious position.
Jayne Coleman, 59, who moved into her home store in March 2020 states that Mill Street has a unique problem of experiencing flooding both from the drains at the front of the shops and the River Rhondda to the rear. Most insurers do not cover this area with affordable premiums. While some furniture and stock was damaged in her store, she believes she was lucky compared with her neighbors.
Local Business owner James Payne, 31, said that he found it worrying none of the affected shops had insurance. The area had previously been hit by Storm Dennis, which caused damage throughout the town center. Rhondda Cynon Taf council stated it would offer a £1,000 Community Flood Recovery Grant and additional discretionary funding for flood-prevention measures to both residents and businesses affected by the floods. The council also plans to work 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”.
The Welsh government has pledged to offer affected households up to £1,000
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