£500 emergency payment amid package of support for flood victims
Households hit by flooding will receive a £500 emergency payment and a council tax discount to help with the clean-up.
Telford and Wrekin Council announced the package of support for residents after 60 homes were flooded, mainly in Ironbridge.
Firms affected will receive a business rate discounts and help with applications for Government grants towards financial losses
Homes and businesses along the Wharfage, in Ironbridge, were evacuated amid the flooding threat from the River Severn.
A clean-up operation is under way in Ironbridge, Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury which were all affected by flooding this week.
Telford and Wrekin Council residents and businesses have also been offered free reconditioned white goods to replace goods damaged or destroyed by the floods.
They will also receive free bulky waste collections to help them dispose of furniture and goods that cannot be salvaged.
Skips have also been located in Ironbridge outside the Black Swan, Wharfage car park and Station Road car park and council officers are on hand to assist where needed.
Clean up crews were out in Ironbridge Gorge on Saturday morning helping with the clean up after the floods including in Ladywood which was one of the worst affected areas.
Due to high winds, the authority said the blue covers over the flood barriers in Ironbridge have been removed but the barriers themselves will remain in place as more rain is forecast in the coming days.
Council advisors and representatives from Citizens Advice Bureau will be available every day from February 24 to 28, from 3pm to 7pm, at Enginuity in Coalbrookdale.
The authority has also confirmed it will be writing to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to lobby for more investment in flood defences.
Council leader, Councillor Shaun Davies, said: “Residents across the borough have had their homes and possessions devastated by flooding, as a result of the recent storms.
“This is just the start of the clean up operation and our offer of help.
"We know that it will take a long time for some of the communities to recover completely, but we are here to support them in whatever way we can.
“We are very clear that we need better investment for improved flood defences for homes and businesses in Telford & Wrekin.
"I will be writing to government to demand this on behalf of our local communities.”
Ironbridge Gorge councillor, Carolyn Healy, added: “The support provided by our local communities to those whose homes have been flooded has been amazing.
"Local businesses were also fantastic in offering emergency accommodation to those in need. Everyone just pulled together.”
The weather forecast remains unsettled with more rain predicted.
River levels in the Ironbridge Gorge are falling, but rainfall totals currently look like they will be enough to top up rivers, but not cause huge rises.
The Environment Agency is continuing to monitor the river and will keep people updated.
The barriers along the Wharfage will remain in place for the coming days.
