RESIDENTS of East Devon whose homes are at risk of flooding can apply for a grant from a scheme being administered by the Environment Agency, Devon County Council and East Devon District Council.

RESIDENTS of East Devon whose homes are at risk of flooding can apply for a grant from a scheme being administered by the Environment Agency, Devon County Council and East Devon District Council. The money can be used to buy products to protect homes.

The scheme was publicised in July when a Flood Fair was held at The King's School, Ottery St Mary. Since then, the deadline for expressions of interest has been extended from 14 August to 30 September 2009.

The funding pot is limited to �35,000. Applications will be assessed against a number of criteria (see below), including the order in which they arrive. So it's in people's interest to get their applications in as soon as possible.

Each applicant can ask for up to �500 or 80% of the cost of the product, whichever is the smaller amount. People can apply for money to buy things like flood boards, which slot into place across their front doors, and give some protection from flood water.

Residents are being warned against purchasing a product solely on the expectation of receiving a grant, as not all applications may be successful.

Councillor Graham Brown, EDDC's Portfolio Holder Environment, said: "There are some small but effective things that many householders can do to protect their property from flooding. In addition to improving the local infrastructure, we want to encourage people to look at self-help. I commend this scheme to our residents and I hope they will take steps before the winter is upon us".

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation, said: "This is a golden opportunity for anyone who has either suffered from flooding recently or whose home is at risk of flooding to secure some funding towards taking preventative action of their own. The Flood Fair held at Ottery St Mary was a huge success with many products on display that appeared to be very simple to install. The grants being made available through this scheme will be of considerable benefit to people".

Stephen Marks, Flood Incident Manager at the Environment Agency, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for people to apply for money to buy things to help them protect themselves from flooding. Flooding can happen very quickly, so it's often homeowners who are best placed to protect their property from flooding. We are working with East Devon District Council and Devon County Council to help people to help themselves".

Forms, which are available from town and parish councils and from Reception at EDDC's offices in Sidmouth, should be completed and returned to the address shown at the foot of this release.

How do I qualify?

You will need to meet the following requirements

1. Your application is for a residential property.

2. Where a flood warning service is available, you sign up to it.

3. You agree to be responsible for purchase, installation, operation and maintenance. We cannot guarantee any product you purchase or be responsible for any failure of that product.

4. If requested, you will allow an inspection of the purchased product. We will contact you in writing if an inspection is required.

5. You provide a receipted invoice on completion.

Prioritising

Should the scheme be oversubscribed, the following prioritisation will apply. The scheme is a trial in response to the East Devon floods in October 2009. Therefore for 2009/10, the scheme will be minded to give preference to those areas affected by the October floods, in particular the Rivers Otter and Clyst.

Funding will be provided according to the following sequence

1. The property has flooded internally in a living area twice or more often since January 1998.

2. The property has flooded internally in a living area once since January 1998 and there is no community scheme and little prospect of one before 2018.

3. The property has flooded internally in a living area once since January 1998.

4. Flooding has occurred nearby which threatened the property and there is no community scheme and little prospect of one before 2018.

Applicants should complete the form and either

email it to jo.richards@environment-agency.gov.uk

or post it to Flood Recovery Group, c/o Jo Richards, Manley House, Kestrel Way, Sowton, Exeter, Devon, EX2 7LQ

Completed forms should be returned no later than 30 September 2009