Flood clean-up costs in Denbighshire reach £150,000 report reveals

Clean-up costs from the recent floods have cost a council  around £150,000 according to a report.

Denbighshire council’s head of finance and property Steve Gadd produced the report which was considered at the authority’s first cabinet meeting since the leader was given delegated powers to make decisions.

Cabinet members dialled in to discuss the agenda remotely with Leader Hugh Evans. No decisions from the meeting have been made available to the press as yet.

The finance report detailed the current costs of the recent floods in the county and revealed £150,000 had been spent on clean-up operations so far.

In his report Mr Gadd spoke about the potential impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. He said: “It has become increasingly clear that the impact of the Corona Virus Pandemic on the authority will be significant.

“The financial impact will be varied from the direct impact of implementing more stringent cleaning regimes to the more indirect impact of a reduction in the number of tourists visiting and its impact on leisure facilities and car parks for example.”

He said the situation required “careful monitoring” so the authority could “maximise any external sources of funding” to help with the fall-out of the pandemic.

Mr Gadd also said Welsh Government had asked for an assessment of the works needed to recover from the floods, which affected infrastructure across the county, so mandarins in Cardiff could assess what level of support the authority needed.

That report will be compiled and sent to Welsh Government by April 30 he added.

By Jez Hemming – Local Democracy Reporter