Scott Coughlan from Tandridge District Council (left) talking to Whyteleafe resident Vic Sultana at the Flood Information meeting.

A series of Flood Information sessions are being held in the Function Room at the back of the Whyteleafe Tavern for local residents and business-owners affected by the flood.The first session took place last Thursday, 13th March where Scott Coughlan from Tandridge District Council, Paul Hendy from the National Flood Forum and Mark Howarth, the Flood and Water Strategy Manager working on behalf of Surrey County Council were helping the public with their concerns.

Paul Hendy explained that the aftermath of the flood is worse than the flood itself but it is all down to the way the insurance claim process is done. Flood victims find themselves suddenly thrown into problems such as cowboy builders and working out what they can claim for on their insurance.

Paul said: “One of the problems we are finding is that people have been flooded but they are not claiming on their insurance because they are worried that they may not be able to get reinsured. If they do not put in a claim but leave it for six months when their floors are warping and their skirting boards are coming away, insurance companies say it is too late to put in a claim so it is a very difficult situation. I would advise people to notify their insurance companies about what has happened because even if they don't put in a claim straight away they can put in a retrospective claim.”

Paul said that in his ten years' experience on the National Flood Forum, the situation in Whyteleafe was the worst that he has encountered. He said: “The fact that the flood is sewage is just diabolical. I have been to Hull, Sheffield and Carlisle but this is really bad because of the sewage staying in the properties for so long. The only good thing is that the community spirit here is so strong. It is really exciting to see the community rising to the challenge. I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else.”

Paul Hendy of the National Flood Forum with Kim Reygate from the BP Garage in Whyteleafe.

Mark Howarth explained the strategies being employed to deal with the flooding. He said: “The creation of the lagoons in Woldingham to take pressure off the system further downstream has helped the situation in Whyteleafe in the short term, although the closure of the Woldingham Road has made things very difficult for Woldingham-based businesses. The medium term plan will be to develop what we have in Woldingham so that it can be brought back into action in the future if necessary. The long-term plan will be to get government funding to improve water catchment in the Bourne Valley so that it can contain more water before reaching flood levels.”

Speaking on behalf of Tandridge District Council, Scott Coughlan said: “Surrey County Council and Tandridge District Council have been working really well together during the floods. The lagoons have had an important impact which shows the need for a strategy going forward, a major capital infrastructure project to alleviate future floods. The length of time it has gone on has been very difficult for the public but it got to the point where we could not do anything more until the water receded. It is important for us to listen to the concerns of the public now and do everything we can to help.”

Two more Flood Information sessions are being held at The Whyteleafe Tavern. The first one is on Wednesday 2nd April from 11am-1pm and the second is on Tuesday 15th April at 6pm-8pm.