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PM pledges £2m for flood repair
Government to begin clear-up in Cumbria after flooding
AFTERMATH - PM visits Cumbria
GORDON Brown last night pledged at least £2million of government money to start the massive clear-up in Cumbria.
Cash is expected to be handed over as soon as council bosses work out what they need to restore swamped towns like Cockermouth and Workington.
The Prime Minister announced the funding on a tour of the disaster area where rescue workers were still making door-to-door searches. Mr Brown praised the work of the emergency services and the community spirit of the people.
All of Cumbria's 1,800 bridges are undergoing inspections in the wake of the floods and extra funding will be released next week to repair dozens of them.
During his two-hour visit to Cockermouth, Mr Brown toured the centre of the town and witnessed the devastation.
Mr Brown pledged £1m in extra funding, matching £1m pledged by the regional development agency, saying: "We will do everything we can to support the local community in its hour of need. I have met people in the centre I have just visited showing great community spirit.
"A community is a thousand acts of kindness and friendship for each other. It is making me very, very proud of this community. The emergency services have worked brilliantly."
The government will also pay local councils millions of pounds to top up their budgets after they have made the towns safe again. Environment Secretary Hillary Benn will outline plans for extra funding to restore flood defences.
The Association of British Insurers has estimated the damage across the county at £100million.
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This article has 5 comments
£2 million isent needed the locals wont pay for all the damage ther are insurences etc the transport secetery said they pay for all bridges etc £2 million is a boost thats not needed but sum help in areas that transport insurence etc wont cover if brown gave more the media will say waste of mony the poor man cant win and if he gets kicked out of power you wont win ether
By michael.. Posted November 22 2009 at 2:35 PM.
Thats mine sorted but what about everyone else's house.
By Barry.. Posted November 22 2009 at 11:18 AM.
Agree with you Gillian. Our council and water board are always arguing about who are responsible when some of our roads flood. And guess what nothing ever gets done, our roads just flood again every time there is heavy rain.
By Doris.. Posted November 22 2009 at 10:39 AM.
Labour can spend Billions of £'s on foreign aid and only pay the taxpayers a paltry £2M to restore their own lives.
Get your priorities right, Labour. UK FIRST!
By steve tea.. Posted November 22 2009 at 10:29 AM.
Who will really foot the bill? The tax payer of course. That is the tax payer who is on the breadline and being forced to pay more tax for situations like this.
All thanks to the Govt (current and previous) who have no clue how to do proper budgets and handle money.
Regarding the floods. How come there isn't enough drainage to cope with heavy rainfall? Is it because we keep removing land that will soak it up? By this mean people paving gardens etc. Then there is the developments made on land that was full of natural land.
Another point. With all the money we pay on water and sewerage bills, I'm sure they could use a chunk of that to implement a system that would divert water from the ground to another location.
For a country that has the capability of being in a position to deal with problems like this - we don't do anything till too late. If at all.
By Gillian.. Posted November 22 2009 at 6:48 AM.