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Gloucestershire councils secure vital flood funding with the aid of SurveyShop

This summer has officially been the wettest on record, with all parts of the UK experiencing above average rainfall - totalling 362.1mm of rain during the summer months. This magnitude of rain caused many rivers to burst their banks resulting in tragic loss of life and wrecked homes, which brought misery to thousands of people.

The worst affected county was Gloucestershire, where over 135,000 homes lost their water supply and a total of 4,500 properties were affected. The councils first call was to distribute bottled water to its residents. The second stage was to speak to the government to ascertain how they could help with the scale of the floods. They set the county a one-week timetable to gather data to use as the basis for flood relief payments and funding. David Sutton, Gloucester City Council’s Senior Environmental Health Officer was tasked with running the project on behalf of the 6 county-wide authorities – Cheltenham Borough Council, Cotswold District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Stroud District, Forest of Dean District Council and Gloucester City Council. After being advised by the corporate team where to turn to for help, David contacted SurveyShop to find out if they could assist with this mammoth task. Ralph Sutcliffe, SurveyShop’s Business Development Manager rose to the challenge and visited the next day to offer survey advice and expertise.

Quick turnaround was vital

The objective was to survey 5,000 residents within the six districts on how they had been affected, identify those in urgent need of assistance, and conduct a damage needs assessment. A simple two-page survey was produced within an afternoon with questions on the type of flooding (flash, river, surface water), depth of floodwater, insurance and whether they had running water, gas and electricity. There was no time for piloting or testing the survey and training on how to interview residents was completed quickly. A team of surveyors comprising of 200 staff from the councils was dispatched to knock on doors and conduct face to face interviews with residents where possible. Once these had been collected, SurveyShop worked around the clock to input and capture all of the data from the 4,500 surveys within the strict timeframe. The data was then sent back to Gloucester for analysis and immediate action.

Funds secured

The results highlighted that a section of residents, in particular the elderly, needed immediate help but it also produced streams of generosity from people offering pledges and donations. The results were also used as evidence to secure £2.4 million for the flood-affected area, which the councils are using to get Gloucestershire back on its feet.

David explains ‘We were in an unthinkable situation and needed help to turn the project around quickly. We are very pleased with the speed and assistance provided by SurveyShop who worked with us to secure this funding. The evidence we have gathered has enabled us to help many people and will also be used to plan for any future exceptional rainfall’.

Further information on what Gloucestershire’s flood recovery has done to help can be found at - www.gloucestershire.gov.uk.

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