November 2023 flood support

Financial support for residents and businesses

Island homes and businesses directly affected by the recent floods were able to apply for UK Government funded support (starting on 15 November 2023).

The Isle of Wight Council is administering a package of support, including a Community Recovery Grant of £500 per household to help with immediate costs.

The schemes have now closed, and no further grants will be paid.

For advice please email iwcfloodrecovery@iow.gov.uk or call 01983 823111

If your home was damaged by flooding caused by Storm Babet between 19 and 25 October 2023, you may be eligible for a grant to help make improvements to your property to reduce future flood damage.

Eligible property owners (both domestic and commercial) can apply for up to £5,000 (including VAT) towards the cost of flood resilience and recoverability measures. Up to £800 of the grant must be for survey costs. (Defra has since increased the allowable amount for surveys from £500 to £800)

If you have buildings insurance, you should speak to your insurer to see if they can repair your property under the ‘Build Back Better’ scheme, which includes flood resilience and recoverability measures. People who have ‘Build Back Better’ included in their insurance can still access PFR grants but are recommended to engage with their insurance company first.

Uninsured properties are equally eligible for the PFR grant.

The Council is administering PFR grant on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which is providing the funding.

Applications can be accepted from the property owner or someone acting on their behalf. If you are not the property owner, you will need to get signed permission from the property owner to act on their behalf.

Eligible properties are:

• residential properties where habitable internal areas of the premises have been damaged
• business properties where internal areas, which are critical to the day-to-day operations of the business have been damaged
• static caravans, if they are the owner’s primary residence
• holiday lets that are operated as a business, where non-domestic rates are paid
• bed and Breakfast properties where the owner lives on site as their primary residence and pay both domestic or non-domestic rates
• houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) or blocks of flats, which will be considered as one property, unless disaggregated for council tax purposes

Collaborative grant applications from more than one property will be supported where these offer a better standard of flood risk reduction. The funding cannot exceed £5,000 per property.

The following are not eligible for the scheme:

• garages, outhouses or storage areas
• basements or cellars not used as part of the habitable or business area of the property.
• holiday homes which are not part of a commercial enterprise and are not the principal residence of the owner.
• second homes
• empty homes

Properties that have received previous PFR grants (2013/14, 2015/16, November 2019 and February 2020) are not eligible.

However, where a survey suggests that extra resilience measures should be installed, over and above what was previously installed. The Local Authority can consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis. A change in ownership since a previous grant does not generate the need for additional support.

The deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is now closed

For queries about PFR grants please email iwcfloodrecovery@iow.gov.uk.

Community Recovery Grant

Flooded households in affected areas were able to apply for up to £500 to get cash quickly to help with immediate costs.

The grant was available to anyone whose primary home suffered internal flood damage, or for people who were not able to live in their property, as a direct result of Storm Babet between 19 and 25 October 2023.

• second homes and empty properties are not eligible

Business Recovery Grant

Small-to-medium sized businesses were eligible for up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant to help them return quickly to business as usual.

The business must be a Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) at the point of grant award – the criteria that must be satisfied for a business to be a SME are defined by the UK Government in the SME Action Plan as follows:

• have fewer than 250 employees; and
• have a turnover of less than €50m or a balance sheet total less than €43m

The business must have been trading at and/or from the property at the point that the property was impacted by Storm Babet. For the purposes of this grant scheme, a business is trading if it is engaged in business activity. This should be interpreted as carrying on a trade or profession or buying and selling goods or services to generate turnover. Fully constituted businesses in liquidation, dissolved, struck off or subject to a striking-off notice are not eligible under these conditions.

The business must have been either:

• Directly impacted by Storm Babet – for instance the business suffered flood damage to the property, or
• Indirectly impacted by Storm Babet – for instance access to the business premises is severely restricted as a result of flooding, including restricted access for customers, suppliers or staff.

The business must be able to receive the BRG payment in line with UK Subsidy Control rules.

Council Tax Discount and Business Rate Relief Schemes

Flooded households may also be eligible for a 100 per cent council tax discount for a minimum of three months — this means affected residents will not have to pay council tax during this period.

After three months, if residents have not been able to return home, they may not have to pay council tax until they move back to their home. The Government scheme does not apply to empty homes, second homes or student accommodation.

Businesses that have not been able to operate due to flooding at their premises may be eligible for 100 per cent Business Rates Relief for a minimum of three months.

If you are receiving a discount, we may need to contact you to review your situation when the discount periods are coming to an end.

If the storm has affected you, your home, business or family, you may need someone to talk to. Find out what mental health support is available on our someone to talk to page.