Flooding one year on: just over half of flood funding paid out so far across council area

A year ago, I witnessed communities come together to help each other in a time of need.

October 2023 was the fifth wettest on record in Northern Ireland and parts of Co Down felt the brunt of it.

The heavy rainfall cumulated in devastating floods which hit certain areas worse than others, in particular, Newry, Downpatrick and Portadown.

Arriving on Market Street in Downpatrick in my wellies this time last year, it was hard to comprehend the devastation that had been caused in a matter of hours. Locals were hauling sandbags onto their shoulders, racing to get them in front of shops which had yet to succumb to the rising waters. For others it was too late.

One person who caught my eye, trying to save what she could, was Ciara Douglas. Her communion dress shop sits on St Patrick's Avenue. As I and UTV camera operator Peter Woodside stood on that very street, Ciara had lifted white dresses above her head, dresses that had been purchased by customers; dresses that she was determined to get to the little girls that had tried them on in her now flooded shop.

A year on and I visited her in the same premises. It has been completely refitted with new flooring but the owner is candid in her assessment of how Downpatrick and her business is coping.

"We're under just £11,000 in two months," she said.

"That's been hard, really hard. Coming to work is very hard, crying has happened a few times.

"But you fight," she added. "You've got to fight and I want to fight for my wee shop and I want to fight for the town but there's only so much of that you can take."

Ciara, like many other business owners, was able to avail of emergency funding provided to local councils by the then Conservative government in Westminster.

A further scheme was then opened by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC), allowing traders to apply for up to £100,000 in further funding.

However, rules stipulated that a business must provide proof of requirement and have that money reimbursed through the funding.

The move has been heavily criticised some traders as well as those trying to encourage people to visit towns like Downpatrick.

In exclusive figures provided to UTV, NMDDC said that around 70% of applications for funding had been approved. More than £4m (£4,156,205.66) of funding had been applied for but to date little over half has been released (£2,246,371.64).

Robert Gardiner runs the Downpatrick and County Down Railway museum. It has only just reopened thanks to community support and the work of its volunteers and only received an offer of further funding last week.

He told UTV: "Everything that we have done to spend to get this place back up and running has been either from our own reserves or from the community."

A report, released in the summer, highlighted again that the amount of rainfall that hit the region was unprecedented and that fluvial flood defences worked well. It also highlight that work is ongoing to find solutions to ensure Downpatrick doesn't suffer the same scenes as last year.

Some businesses in Newry are also still struggling, but positivity from traders there was in greater supply one year on. Some that I revisited told me of their ambitions for the future while wanting to sustain a family legacy of trading in the city.

Meanwhile, homes in Portadown were also badly affected. Some destroyed causing families to move out of homes they had lived in for years.

In a statement, a Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said: "Climate change is increasingly being played out in weather patterns, not just here but right across Europe, and it is clear that the importance of flood risk management cannot be underestimated. It is complicated and multi-faceted, which is why it is important that we carry out the detailed work necessary to get it right.

They added: "Ground investigation works mark a key step and an important part of the process which will progress Phase 2 of three interconnected flood protection schemes for Newry.

“In Downpatrick work continues to find any viable solutions to mitigate the impacts of further flooding in the area. The feasibility study is due for completion by Spring 2025. This work was accelerated following the flooding last year and remains on target.

“Work is also ongoing to complete the design and finalise the business case for the Portadown Flood Alleviation scheme which entails approximately nine kilometres of flood defences at 21 sites across the town. Subject to gaining the necessary approvals and the availability of funding, it is currently estimated that the procurement process to appoint a contractor for the works could commence early in 2025."

It is hard to believe it is a year ago since these floods, but it is a time that so many in Newry, Portadown and Downpatrick won't forget, anytime soon.

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