Residents and businesses look back on year

Across the district, more than 1,000 homes and 170 businesses were affected by flooding as the rivers Aire, Calder, Worth and Wharfe, as well as Silsden Beck, all burst their banks causing damage estimated at about £34 million.

Areas of the district particularly badly hit included Shipley, Saltaire, Bingley, Keighley, Haworth, Brighouse and Ilkley.

December last year was the wettest December since records began in 1910, as Storm Eva wrecked havoc.

After months of constant clear-up operations and waiting for insurance pay-outs to come through, the majority of residents and businesses are now back to normal.

But some are still facing upheaval, with no end in sight.

Martin and Magda Teale have still not moved back into their bungalow in Branksome Drive, Shipley, where they have lived for 37 years, after it was wrecked by flood water from the nearby River Aire.

Their home was previously flooded in 2000, when all losses were paid for under their insurance policy.

But since then they have been unable to get cover for the property, which cost them £27,000, but was worth £200,000 before last year’s deluge, which hit 21 homes in their street.

The couple are now faced with a bill for £21,000 to have their home rewired, have a new boiler and heating system fitted, and have the entire downstairs re-plastered.

The couple are still living in rented accommodation as the repair work continues.

Mr Teale, 64, said: “The floods have ruined two Christmases for us now.

“It’s an ordeal. We are not through with it yet. We are a long way from being back in.

“We have just got to crack on now. We have got a skip outside all of the time.

“There is so much work for us still to do. It does not bear thinking about.

“It was always going to be a long job. It’s an ongoing problem.

“It was just an enormous amount of water that came into the bungalow with such speed and force. It devastated the house.”

Mr Teale praised the support given to his family by Michelle Chapman, chairman of the Bingley Flood Support Group.

Mrs Chapman led the way during the flood recovery operation in Bingley.

She co-ordinated a team of volunteers who gave practical support to hundreds of flood-hit people.

Mrs Chapman set up a group on Facebook, which attracted more than 2,000 hits in an hour, and also raised £14,000 in aid for stricken residents and businesses. She set up a base at Bingley Scout hut, directing volunteers to those in need.

The Bingley Flood Support Group received a Shipley Community Hero Award, which was shared with the Shipley and Baildon Flood Group, and Mrs Chapman also visited 10 Downing Street in March to meet then Prime Minister David Cameron.

She said: “It’s been chaotic.

“Starting on Boxing Day last year, we worked out of a Scout hut for two weeks helping people.

“The whole of Bingley was devastated by it. I have never seen anything like it.

“The doubts are still there, whenever it rains, people panic about how bad it will be and whether it will flood again.

“We are still fundraising even though we are out of the limelight. People have forgotten about it.

“We should just carry on now.”

Businesses that fell victim to the floods also spoke of their year of recovery.

At Baildon Bridge, business owner Brian Tuxford was left devastated as he surveyed the wreckage of his van hire business, Northway Vehicles Sales, in Otley Road.

Mr Tuxford said the firm had put in £750,000 of insurance claims after several vehicles were swept downstream, with another 40 damaged by flood water.

Since last December, the firm has demolished and rebuilt its buildings.

He said: “The floods completely put us out of business.

“It destroyed our workshops and the flood water even moved our office by ten feet. It was a complete rebuild for us.

“It has taken us a full year to get ourselves back to being fully operational.

“We are personally £150,000 out of pocket.”

But he said the firm had “bounced back well”.

“We have had a strong year on sales and we hit the ground running,” he said. “We had a lot to make up for.”

Meanwhile, a Bingley pub is going from strength to strength after it was swamped by the floods.

The Brown Cow, on Ireland Bridge, Bingley, was left under five feet of filthy water after the River Aire burst its banks.

But after four months of non-stop cleaning and repairs by landlords Matt and Jo Hogg, the pub re-opened in April and has not looked back.

The Timothy Taylor’s pub was booming following an £80,000 refit in autumn 2015. The repair work since the floods has cost a further £150,000.

The clean-up operation included 14 waste skips filled with wrecked furniture and furnishings.

Mrs Hogg said: “It’s been really, really good. We have bounced back really well.

“It’s just got better and better since we re-opened.

“We had been open for 11 weeks and shut for 17 weeks.

“The walls in some parts of the building are still damp.

“It was just awful at the time. Looking back it was very traumatic. I would not want it to happen again.

“It was cool to see everyone coming together. We made some really, really true friends out of it and we are grateful to everyone who helped us.”

But what about the future?

Earlier this month, Bradford Council approved its Flood Risk Management Strategy which has core aims to prevent and alleviate flooding in high-risk areas.

In October, Yorkshire’s regional flood and coastal committee also agreed to fund £850,000 of flood prevention work by the Council and the Environment Agency, part of the latter’s £24m repair programme for Yorkshire.

Contingency plans are in place this year, including the National Flood Forum’s helpline for people who may be at risk of flooding.

The floodline can be contacted on 01299 403055, or by emailing info@floodforum.org.uk.