Fundraising money to help small businesses and local people affected by flood

Photo: Howard Wilkinson Photography

A shop in The Walk after the flood

Money raised by local people following the Boxing Day floods will go towards helping small business owners as well as local people.

A fundraising page set up by photographer Howard Wilkinson is aiming to raise £10,000 to help business owners who have suffered damage due to the severe flooding.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/100115/fundraising-page-set-up-for-rochdale-flood-victims 

Howard said: “My page is aimed at helping the small independent business owners including community groups such as nurseries/playgroups/gyms, as may become appropriate.

“I had a walk round the town centre and stopped to talk to a few of the businesses affected by the floods, hoping to get a ground-level take on what situations people are facing. I discovered one business owner who thought he was covered but has been pointed by his insurance company to the small print clause that states 'except in the event of flooding'. I wonder how many others will find this out.

"Even more alarming is the fact that some of the homeowners around the town may face the same issue.

“Some businesses do not have insurance at all. Yes, I know this is their fault, but doesn't mean they are not devastated and needing help. In the light of the above, it may not have helped them anyway.

“Some of the businesses rent their property so the landlord is responsible for the structural aspects of the building. However, the people renting the space are still self-employed and have lost equipment and stock, which is not covered (for whatever reason) by insurance. This includes nail bar machinery, hairdresser’s scissors (over £200 per pair), phone cases and accessories. One business, a tailor, will have to replace, or at least clean, his customer’s garments, at his own expense.

“Where people are self-employed, or the business owner, they are not earning while the damage is repaired, and have homes to finance, bills to pay and, in one case, a wedding to pay for. Lost earnings will probably not be covered by the insurance.

“Even in their own hardship, some of those affected are still using what they have left to help others who have suffered loss. Knowing the two people involved as I do, this is of no surprise to me.

“One of the shops on The Walk appears to be sinking, which suggests that the damage may not be just above the surface. The implications of what this could mean do not bear thinking about.

“I came home with a deep sense of the enormity of what has happened, and the time it will take to get things back to normal, if at all. This is why, in my desire to help in some small way, I have set up the donations page so we can maybe help some of these people financially as they try to rebuild their livelihoods, feed their families, and keep the town centre alive. These are ordinary people, trying to make a living and who have been severely affected by the floods and may lose their homes not directly due to the floods, but as a result of losing their means of finance.”

A fundraising page has also been set up to help people in Littleborough who have been affected and is aiming to raise £2,500 to help those who have suffered due to the flooding.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/100116/fundraising-page-set-up-for-littleborough-flood-victims

Collection boxes have been put in shops to help with the collection and are located in Best Dressed, Sainsbury’s and the Village Bakery to name a few.

Simon France, from Rochdale Online owned Littleborough Local, said: “It is early days yet. The Littleborough Lions, Civic Trust and LEAF all met on Sunday 27 December to agree on ways of working together in order to create a cohesive way of raising funds and allocating responsibilities to the individual groups.

“Last night (Tuesday 29 December), Littleborough Lions and LEAF met to start the ball rolling regarding actually collecting money. A special account has been opened for the money collected and collection buckets are in place in many Littleborough shops. The number of shops and businesses holding collection buckets will continue to grow over the coming days.

“There will also be a series of fundraising events starting with a comedy night in the Cricket Club next on Thursday 7 January.

The money will be used to help people who have been affected by the flood. Once money has started to come in then the committee will publicise how people can receive help.”