A year on from the worst flood in Rochdale Town Centre in living memory

Date published: 26 December 2016

The Boxing Day floods in 2015 were an unprecedented and surreal experience in the borough. A combination of the wettest and warmest December on record, along with over 100mm of rainfall, led to flooding not seen in living memory.

Numerous parts of the borough were affected. Rochdale Town Centre has over 350 businesses, including 60 household names and 80 independents shops. In total, 65 businesses were affected by floodwater ingress and over half of those affected were independents.

The River Roch broke its banks at the back of Number One Riverside and water cascaded through the recently built £50million building causing major damage.

River Roch floods Number One Riverside Saturday 26 December 2015

The box culvert that starts at the entrance to Number One Riverside and runs through town, bar the two new openings, across to the police station could not cope with the sheer volume of water and debris that had been washed down river, so water did what water does and found an alternative route, down Smith Street and along The Esplanade, inundating buildings along its route.

With the box culvert overwhelmed water cascades down Smith Street

The response on the ground by residents, businesses and council workers, and the spirit shown as the community pulled together to assist those whose homes and businesses had been devastated, was exemplary.

A year on, Rochdale Online talked to town centre businesses, Town Centre Management (TCM) and the Council Leader, Richard Farnell, and asked them to reflect on the catastrophic events.

Kevin Wood, director of Headquarters Unisex Barbers, whose salon is on The Walk, said: "It's been a hard 12 months for us trying to recover from the flood. We obviously lost a lot of business over the seven weeks we were closed.

"It was horrendous, we had around four feet of water in the salon and we lost everything. We had to make a completely new start, which wasn't helped when the first builders we got in took advantage of the situation and we had to fire them.

The Walk flooded Saturday 26 December 2015

"Just after the flood there were insurance brokers taking the business insurance details so they could act as middle men and get a percentage. We were just in shock at the situation and thought these people were trying to help small businesses get back on their feet. Even now 12 months on we are still waiting for our final insurance payment.

"Some businesses have recovered more quickly than others, but it doesn't help any of us that the Valuation Office Agency is charging higher business rates on The Walk, a little side street, much more than shops less than 100 yards from the entrance of the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre on Yorkshire Street, the main shopping area.

"We would like to say a big thank you to all our loyal customers old and new over the last six years, without you our business would not have survived. Thank you."

Stephen Harrison, proprietor of Stephen Paul Hairdressing, saw his premises at the side of the Regal Moon submerged under water. Greg Couzens stepped in and gave Stephen space to operate from his salon on The Walk.

Stephen said: "Initially, devastated and shell-shocked would be a fair description. Also certain insurance companies and other unhelpful people had the fate of my livelihood in their hands and I felt they were dragging their feet, you could say I was a little frustrated.

"However, as the year progressed things started to come back to some kind of normality and the move to Gregory Couzens salon in The Walk has been a revelation - Greg and his team have been brilliant. Onwards and upwards."

Rochdale Town Centre 1.30pm Saturday 26 December 2015

Greg Couzens said: "Is it really twelve months since that fateful day, the devastation caused to many businesses was catastrophic, The Walk was four feet deep and nothing could be done. I spent the full day laying sandbags to prevent more shops from flooding.

"At one point I thought that it was the end of my business, not covered with insurance and the aftermath of raw sewage, water damage, no power, totally unable to operate and the smell was indescribable, everything on the ground floor was contaminated and thrown in a skip. Fortunately we operate on three floors and within a short period we opened on the upper floors.

"Twelve months on and I feel incredibly lucky, my business is stronger than ever and is expanding, I am very fortunate.

"However, I have spoken with other businesses and there is a great fear that it could happen again.

"Flood risk is here to stay, the sheer volume of water in such a short period of time was unprecedented, we would like reassurance from the Environment Agency and Rochdale Council that preventative measures are in place."

Mark Foxley, of Rochdale Town Centre Management, said: “The worst affected areas were The Walk, South Parade, The Butts, and the bottom of Yorkshire Street. The Exchange and Wheatsheaf Shopping Centres were unaffected, in the main it was sole traders and small businesses, many of whom couldn’t get flood insurance.

"Along with the Council, and as part of a multi-agency team, we were out on Boxing Day from 10.30am until 9.00pm, when most of the water had receded, then every day following, right through and well into the New Year.

"The support from Rochdale Council was excellent, from a quickly processed initial £500, to three month business rates relief, followed by a flood recovery grant fund and property resilience advice and support. There was fantastic team spirit and everyone pulled together, TCM offered a range of advice from the importance of early contact with insurers, and hygiene awareness, to liaising with the businesses for their skip requirements, provided by the Council. Of the 65 businesses affected over half of them were up and running within a week.

"A tremendous amount of hard work followed the flooding and we saw some really excellent partnership working between the Council, ourselves and other agencies and it was amazing to see how people pulled together to get things up and running so quickly.

"The number of volunteers coming forward was heartwarming too, helping to relocate charities such as the Foodbank and Age UK getting them operating again from temporary locations.

"Despite the devastation for many, spirits remained high, businesses were helping each other offering temporary accommodation such as Greg Couzens, and The Flying Horse offered temporary rooms for residents badly affected. The event built relationships and undoubtedly strengthened the business community."

Rochdale Town Centre Saturday 26 December 2015

Council Leader Richard Farnell added: “I doubt any of us will ever forget the appalling weather conditions that hit the borough last Christmas. The images of the water flowing through Rochdale Town Centre on Boxing Day still send a shiver down my spine.

That said, I think the way the Council reacted to the emergency was something to be proud of. In total we paid out nearly £450,000 in grants to affected homes and businesses, £185,000 in business rates relief and over £135,000 in Council Tax relief - and this was on top of the 150 council staff who gave up their time during the festive break to support the recovery process.

Hundreds of properties have been helped get back on their feet and we have been instrumental in introducing a number of flood schemes to ensure we don’t suffer the same fate again.

All-in-all the events of last Christmas not only highlighted the dangers posed by this country’s stormy weather, but more importantly for me, that co-operative spirit of Rochdalians to help out in times of need.”

Twelve months on the Town Centre is a very different place. With support packages from the Council, 14 new businesses have opened. The opening of the River Roch is complete. In Bloom achieved a silver gilt award. The Gracie Fields statue has been unveiled. And though there is a lot of work still to be done, the Town Centre has a better appearance and feel.

• Check your flood risk at:
  http://www.checkmyfloodrisk.co.uk
  
  
• Check current alerts at:
  https://www.floodalerts.com
  
  
• Sign up for flood warnings at:
  https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings

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