Guidance Notes to Applicants

Guidance Notes to Applicants

Purpose of the Fund

Following an announcement by the Prime Minister on the 12th February 2014, the Repair and Renew Grant (RRG) scheme has been established to provide grants of up to £5,000 to homeowners and businesses that had been flooded between the 1st December 2013 and 31st March 2014 inclusive, to implement flood resistance and/ or resilience measures to minimise the impact of any future floods.

The RRG will not provide funding support for general repairs from flood damage (e.g. carpets), or to insurance excess payments.

Who Can Apply?

The following premises are eligible for RRG;

·  Residential properties (including static caravans where it is the primary residence, i.e. registered as such on the electoral role) where habitable internal areas of the premise (i.e. not garages and outbuildings) have been damaged by flooding between the 1st December 2013 and the 31st March 2014.

·  Business premises (including social enterprise) and charitable organisation properties where internal areas of the premise which are critical to the day to day operations (i.e. not storage sheds or warehouses) have been damaged by flooding between the 1st December 2013 and the 31st March 2014.

The applicant must be the person responsible for the fabric of the property, normally the property owner.

Criteria

·  The interior of your home or business premises must have been damaged by flooding between 1st December 2013 and 31st March 2014 inclusive. Please see definition above.

·  The applicant must not have received other sources of public or insurance funding to establish the same resilience/resistance measures being applied for in this grant application. You must ensure that you have discussed your proposed RRG application with your insurance provider.

·  If your property was flooded due to its proximity to the River Thames you may also be entitled to additional property-level-flood protection grant funding from the Environment Agency. Therefore before you think about what resistance measures you feel your property needs, please also contact the Environment Agency’s surveyor at JBA Consulting on or telephone 01633 410021.

·  In Surrey all flooded properties are entitled to make an application to the RRG scheme. In other areas of the country some properties might be excluded from the RRG scheme if they are going to benefit from a community level flood defence scheme being built within the next year. This does not apply to any properties In Surrey.

·  Applicants should utilise advice on the Property Protection Adviser website (http://nationalfloodforum.org.uk/property-level-protection-community-tool/), and other sources of information referenced in this guidance, to help select the most appropriate resilience and/ or resistance measures for the nature of the flood risk to their property.

·  Business applicants will need to comply with state aid regulations. State aid law is how the European Union regulates state funded support to businesses. To be eligible for RRG support businesses must not have received more than 200,000 euros of public funding in the last 3 years. For farming businesses the limit is reduced to 15,000 euros.

What You Can Apply For

Up to £5,000 grant funding towards 100% of the costs (including VAT) of purchasing and installing appropriate resilience and/ or resistance measures from the eligible list below.

Should you choose to implement measures that cost in excess of £5,000, the additional costs must be met from alternative resources. If your property was flooded due to its proximity to the River Thames you may also be entitled to an additional property-level-flood protection grant funding from the Environment Agency. Before you submit this application to us, please contact the Environment Agency’s surveyor at JBA Consulting on or telephone 01633 410021.

The following resilience and/ or resistance items describe the most common measures that can be applied for. When selecting which measures you intend to install, we strongly advise that you consider information available on reference websites such as www.nationalfloodforum.org.uk/property-level-protection-community-tool/. The guidance will help you select the appropriate resilience/ resistance measures for the type of flooding in your area – not all of the identified measures may be appropriate for the type of flood risk to your property, and may make limited difference to protecting or minimising the damage to your premises.

Prior to making an application, we strongly advise that you obtain professional advice and have a survey carried out. Should you choose to seek professional advice, you can retrospectively claim up to £500 of the cost as part of your application (within the total £5,000 including VAT that you can apply for).

The costs contained within the table below are indicative only. Actual costs will take into account site specific circumstances including the size and construction of the property for which the grant is being applied for. VAT will also need to be factored into the costs.

Property level-measures / Description of measure and type of flood risk they are effective against / Indicative cost range £s /
Professional Survey of Premises to Identify Flood Risks (can be undertaken prior to RRG application to identify most appropriate measures and up to £500 of costs applied for retrospectively) / Professional survey undertaken to identify property flood risk, and identify appropriate resilience and/ or resistance measures.
Recommended for all applications / Up to £500 including VAT
Flood Risk Report / Professional Flood Risk Report can be commissioned after resilience and/ or resistance measures fitted to inform any future works, and/ or to submit to insurance companies to demonstrate action taken/ level of future risk.
May be required by mortgage companies. / £ varies
Airbrick Cover / Watertight cover for airbricks.
Where there are existing air bricks – usually properties with suspended floors. / £20-40
Self-closing airbrick / Replacement airbrick that automatically closes to prevent flooding.
Where there are existing air brick – usually properties with suspended floors. Although more expensive than airbrick covers their advantage is that they are self-deploying if the occupier is absent. / £50-90
Sewerage Bung / Inflatable device to insert in U bend of toilet to prevent sewage backflow.
Appropriate where surcharged sewers cause sewage to back flow into downstairs toilets. / £30-50
Toilet Pan Seal / Seal to prevent sewage backflow.
Appropriate where surcharged sewers cause sewage to back flow into downstairs toilets. / £60-80
Non-return valves 12mm overflow pipe / Valve prevents backflow via overflow pipe.
Appropriate to stop flood water entering a property through cistern overflow pipes. / £70-110
Non-return valves 110mm soil waste pipe / Prevents backflow via soil waste pipe
Non-return valves inserted into the external foul drain prevent sewage backing up into the property. Careful consideration should be given to this with respect to flooding from the Thames. It is possible that the surcharged sewers will actually prevent the non-return valve opening when the toilets are flushed or sinks and basins are emptied. The capacity of the internal drains is finite and the surcharging of the sewer is likely to extend over days or weeks. The protection of the non-return valve is negated and internal sewage flooding may occur in any event. / £550-650
Non-return valves 40mm utility waste pipe / Valve prevents backflow via waste pipe.
Prevents flood water backing up through washing machines etc. / £80-120
Sceptic tank resistance / Enhancement to properties served by sceptic tanks to make these tanks more resistant; such measures can include Isolation valves or changes to venting above flood level.
Appropriate for all properties that are served by sceptic tanks / £ varies
Silicone gel around openings for cables etc. / Prevents flooding via openings for cables to access properties.
Appropriate for all properties where it is proposed to implement resistances measures. / £80-120
Water resistant repair mortar / Water resistant mortar used to repair walls and improve future resistance.
Appropriate for all properties where it is proposed to implement resistances measures. Will need to be considered if walls are in need of repair. / £80-120
Re-pointing external walls with water resistant mortar / Improve water resistance through using water resistant mortar to re-point walls.
Appropriate for all properties where it is proposed to implement resistances measures. The porosity of the brickwork needs to be considered. With porous brickwork waterproofing of external walls may need to be considered. / £150-250
Waterproof external walls / Membrane fitted or other alteration to make external walls water resistant
Appropriate for all properties where it is proposed to implement resistances measures. May need to be considered if existing brick is porous. / £200-400
Replace sand-cement screeds on solid concrete slabs (with dense screed) / Dense water resistant screed to replace sand-cement screed
Appropriate for solid ground floors. / £670-740
Replace mineral insulation within walls with closed cell insulation / Replacement of wall insulation with water resistant insulation.
Appropriate where mineral insulation may become subject to water damage.
Information and advice (free of charge) can be obtained from Action Surrey – see the section on “sources of further guidance” below for contact details. / £720-800
Replace gypsum plaster with water resistant material, such as lime / Replace existing plaster to water resistant material in property.
Appropriate for conventionally plastered walls where resilience measures are being implemented. Consideration should be given to this measure if it has been necessary to strip the existing plaster. / £4,280-4,740
Sump Pump / A pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a water collecting sump basin
Latest experience indicates that pumps are an important element in reducing damage if resistance measures are not 100% effective. For suspended floors they should be used to keep the flood water below the underside of the floor. For solid floors sumps need to be provided. For homes by the River Thames - the duration of flooding on the Thames is likely to be measured in many days. It is highly probable that the power supply can fail. Backup battery systems are available but for extended loss of power are also likely to fail. Emergency generation is an alternative consideration but needs to be carefully implemented to avoid the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. / £400-600
Demountable Door Guards / Guard fitted to doors to resist flooding
Appropriate for provision of flood resistance. Careful consideration needs to be given to large patio doors. / £500-900
Automatic Door Guards / Door guards that automatically close to prevent flooding
Appropriate for provision of flood resistance. Careful consideration needs to be given to large patio doors. The advantages of these are that they automatically deploy if the occupier is absent. However see comments on sump pumps. / £1,000-2000
Permanent Flood Door / Permanent additional doors with locks and seals to resist flooding
Appropriate for provision of flood resistance. Careful consideration needs to be given to large patio doors. The advantages of these are that they are permanent at your home or business. / £ varies
Demountable Window Guards / Guard fitted to window to resist flooding
For homes by the River Thames: Given the comparatively shallow depth of flooding within the local Thames floodplain, unless the window is low this is probably not an appropriate solution for local conditions. It should be noted that it is not recommended to provide resistance measures for floods that would rise more than 900mm above the threshold of the property. The pressure resulting from depths greater than this could cause failure of the property walls. / £500-900
Replace ovens with raised, built-under type / Raising oven off floor above flood level
Applicable as a resilience measure. Note the comments on pumps and the possibility of some internal flooding of resistance measures, especially where the floors are solid. / £700-780
Replace chipboard kitchen/bathroom units with plastic units / Fit plastic kitchen and/ or bathroom units to minimise water damage.
Applicable as a resilience measure. Stainless steel units are also a consideration. / £5,000-5520
Move electrics well above likely flood level / Re-wiring of electrics (such as socket points) above flood level.
Appropriate as a resilience measure. Note the comments on pumps and the possibility of some internal flooding of resistance measures, especially where the floors are solid. / £760-840
Mount boilers on wall / Raise boiler above flood level.
Applicable as a resilience measure. Note the comments on pumps and the possibility of some internal flooding of resistance measures, especially where the floors are solid.
Information and advice (free of charge) can be obtained from Action Surrey – see the section on “sources of further guidance” below for contact details. / £1,080-1200
Move service meters above likely flood level. / Raise service meters above flood level.
Applicable as a resilience measure. Note the comments on pumps and the possibility of some internal flooding of resistance measures, especially where the floors are solid. / £1,620-1800
Replace chipboard flooring with treated timber floorboards / Replace floor (including joists) to make water resistant.
Appropriate as a resilience measure. Also note the comments on pumps. Due to the likely period of time the timber could be immersed in flood water advice should be sought on the best products for this. / £920-1,020
Replace floor including joists with treated timber to make it water resilient / Replace floor including joists with treated timber to make it water resilient
Appropriate as a resilience measure. Also note the comments on pumps. Due to the likely period of time the timber could be immersed in flood water advice should be sought on the best products for this. / £3,490-3,850
Install chemical damp-proof course below joist level / Install damp proof course to resist groundwater flooding.
In older properties there may be no damp proof course. Installing a chemical damp proof course is a way to address this problem where there is a suspended floor. / £6,250-6,910
Replace timber floor with solid concrete / Replace wooden flooring with concrete.
Appropriate for properties with existing timber suspended floors. This can be considered to be both a resistance and a resilience measure. This is obviously an expensive option. Unless flooding is frequent, when the high cost could be justified against the cost of damage, other protection measures might be more appropriate. / £8,210-9,070
Garage/Driveway Barrier / Driveway gate or garage barrier to resist flooding.
The use of a driveway gate could be considered where there are problems with bow waves from traffic. In combination with a resistant boundary wall it could be used to create a barrier around the property. Consideration needs to be given to the fact the underlying geology is sands and gravels which are porous. Thus wall foundations may need to be deep to reduce seepage or pumps need to be installed. It is strongly recommended that advice is sought before adopting such a solution.
Garage barriers act as resistance measures. The can be self-activating (at a cost). As with other resistance measures it should be noted that pumps may need to be utilised as well. / £2,000-3,000
Other measures may also be effective and value for money, you may wish to discuss options with your insurance company and/or a professional surveyor.
Where appropriate, we recommend that homeowners and businesses use products that carry the BSI kite mark for flood protection products (PAS1188) or similar standards.

How to apply and supporting documentation