THE full cost of infrastructure repairs following last month’s severe flooding is beginning to emerge, with one damaged bridge alone likely to cost £600,000 to fix.
Efforts to calculate the scale of the damage are continuing as some of the worst affected residents meet to discuss how future flooding can be prevented.
North Yorkshire County Council has estimated that it will need to find £3m for its repairs.
One of the biggest bills will come from a bridge at Scorton, near Richmond, which was partially washed away.
North Yorkshire county councillor Michael Heseltine said: “I am advised that the cost of restoring flood damage in the county will be of the order of £3m and this is at a time when we are still catching up with the pothole legacy of the last two winters.
“Restoration of the bridge on the road east from Scorton towards Teesside which was partially washed away will itself be at an estimated cost of at least £600,000.”
Officials say they do not yet have a time-scale for the repair of the bridge.
Divers have been called in to assess damage below the water. A temporary crossing has been installed until the repairs are completed.
A public meeting will be held tonight (OCT15) in Gilling West, near Richmond, to discuss how to prevent a repeat of the flooding which affected scores of homes.
The village was badly affected, despite flood defence work which was carried out after previous flooding incidents.
Some villagers, including elderly residents of Oswin Grove care home, are still unable to return home because of the damage.
Coun Heseltine added: “The floods of late September have been disastrous for many. I reckon that parts of Richmondshire North and some villages in particular, have suffered more than most.
“Very sadly, some residents particularly from Gilling West will not be back in their homes for weeks or months.”
North Yorkshire County Council is checking if it can recover any of its repair costs back through the Belwin Scheme, which allows local authorities to claim part of the costs incurred by natural disasters from central government.
Elsewhere in the region, officials in other areas badly hit by the flooding, including Stockton, said they were still counting the cost of the flooding.
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