Conference to tackle floods topic (From York Press)

Conference to tackle floods topic

8:25am Friday 7th December 2012 in News By Mark Stead, mark.stead@thepress.co.uk

A CONFERENCE on flooding will be held in York next year to discuss how the city can provide better support to residents and businesses.

City of York Council will invite emergency services, insurance firms and other organisations to highlight the help on offer to people when flooding problems strike the city, as they have done twice in recent months.

The authority said it wanted to look at how insurance firms could help those affected and how businesses could better protect themselves.

Topics which will be discussed at the meeting, the date of which has yet to be announced, will include community-based stores of sandbags and flood sacks, flood barriers to front doors and grates, community flood wardens, alert systems, the council’s Flood Relief Fund and clear-up work.

Council leader James Alexander said: “We are hosting the conference early next year so residents and businesses are aware of the support available to them before, during and after flooding and to discuss some of the effective measures for protecting homes and businesses, some of which can be done as a community.

“We will also be discussing with major insurers the issues York people have highlighted to us in accessing insurance, ensuring claims are processed quickly and getting replacement items, future-proofing them against further flooding. We need insurers to recognise the extensive work on flood defences in the city and inviting them to discuss the issues raised directly with residents and businesses.”