A PACKAGE of funding has been made available to help Tenbury to get back on its feet after the flooding that affected more than 100 businesses and homes.

Now the task has turned to trying to recover as quickly as possible.

The one silver lining is that the flood came at one of the quietest periods of the year for many shops, but the race is on to get back open by the spring.

Worcestershire County Council has announced an emergency package of support to help communities to recover from flooding.

A quarter of a million pounds is being set aside by Worcestershire County Council to help flood hit communities get back on their feet following some of the worst flooding that Worcestershire has seen for many years.

The County Council communities fund is in addition to a major package of support announced by the Government.

Amongst those measures announced by the Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick, flood-hit households will be able to apply for up to £500 in financial hardship payments; households and businesses significantly affected by flooding will be eligible for 100 per cent council tax and business rates relief for at least three months and businesses which have suffered severe, uninsurable losses will be eligible for up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant.

“We welcome the Government announcement and we will do our best to help all of those householders and businesses in Worcestershire who are eligible for the financial hardship payments to access the support that they need by proactively deploying our staff in the areas affected,” said Simon Geraghty, Leader of the County Council.

“In addition to those funds the County Council is immediately setting aside £250,000 to support communities in Worcestershire who have been affected by the floods.

“I was in Tenbury and I saw at first hand the impact that has been caused by the flooding. I want to help towns such as Tenbury, and others across the county, to recover as quickly as they can.

“Together with our district council colleagues we will work out the details of how these emergency funds can be accessed but I want to reassure communities who have been affected by the floods that help is on its way.”

Worcestershire County Council continues to work alongside the emergency services, the Environment Agency and with other partners.