No council tax for flood victims

Written by MK News on Thu 9th Aug 2007

Milton Keynes Council is waiving council tax for victims of the flash floods in Stoke Goldington.

Homes in the village were swamped by flash floods twice in a month after heavy rain burst the banks of two brooks which meet just west of the High Street and flow under it in a culvert.

On Monday, July 2 residents from ten homes in the High Street, Tathall End, and Weston Underwood were evacuated to the village hall after the second spate of floods hit the area.

Cabinet member in charge of emergency planning, Cllr Douglas McCall, has given the go-ahead for a £30,000 technical investigation to find out the cause of the flooding.

The council is now offering to waive council tax for a year for those residents who had to move house, and/or whose houses require major repair work due to the floods.

A spokesman for MK Council said: "Normally there are some rules governing council tax; if the house is unoccupied and completely empty of furniture the owner will not pay council tax for the first six months.

"However, if the property is classed as a main home, even if the occupants are temporarily absent, the owner is still liable for council tax.

"On this occasion the council may waver council tax for residents who have been a victim of the floods."

Sam Potts, ward councillor for the Stoke Goldington area, has been fighting for the waiver since the floods damaged around 40 houses in the area.

"This council tax waver is a step in the right direction to get residents a fair deal," he said.

"But it doesn't deal with the wider issue of what went wrong; hopefully the enquiry will discover that."

Clare Gott, whose house in the High Street was so badly damaged by the floods she had to move into rental accommodation in Great Linford, said the £30,000 enquiry launched by the council could be a waste of money.

"They did an enquiry in 1987 after the last floods and put a lot of money into it, but then didn't act on the advice," she said.

"What they need to do is gather information from the residents; there are enough people in the village that have got inside knowledge."

The spokesman added that MK Council did not exist until 1997, when the unitary council was formed, so is not responsible for enquiries before that date.

Cllr Sam Potts added: "The enquiry is taking up speed, and questionnaires and letters have been sent out to residents.

"I have also been going along to coffee mornings with maps, and senior citizens have been putting on rivers, lakes and ponds that have been filled in, which may have been a contributing factor."

"It is all about data collection at the moment."

Residents who meet criteria for the council tax waiver are advised to contact the council tax department on 01908 253794, or contact cllr Sam Potts at the civic offices by writing to him at Milton Keynes Council, Civic Offices, 1 Saxon Gate East, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 3HQ.