Five months on and the impact of December's floods are still being felt

A team of 93 volunteers from the South Lakeland Community Flood Recovery Group gathered to visit some 900 homes in the worst affected parts of the town last Saturday.

The group, who have been providing both practical and emotional support to flood victims, asked if they could visit flood affected properties to assist householders apply for grants and help with the removal of debris.

Community worker from Sandylands Methodist Church and Flood Recovery Group member, the Rev Jonny Gios said that although those with fast-acting insurance companies have been able to get back into their houses, for many the recovery process was proving to be a 'marathon not a sprint'.

"We need people to not forget about Kendal," Mr Gios said. "Some people won't be back in their homes until December."

Peter Gregson, one of the event's volunteers, echoed Mr Jonny's thoughts, saying that the street he visited in Mint Dale felt like 'a ghost town'.

"It was one of the areas worst affected in that part of Kendal," Peter said. "Ninety per cent of the houses are not occupied at the moment. There were three or four houses where people were living quite normally.

"It was quite a sobering experience. You drive into Kendal and go just a mile outside the town centre and in some cases there are no people living there."

Hannah Laws is one such resident who the team helped out on Saturday, but is still waiting to move back into her family home on Sandylands Road.

Ms Laws was in hospital, having just given birth to her twin boys, when the floods hit, and she is still waiting for her house repairs to be completed.

Volunteers helped to remove debris out of Hannah's back garden and although she hopes to be back in the house in a couple of weeks, she says that a lack of available tradespeople has made it a long process.

Not only is the estate that she lives on still largely and obviously deserted, but she does not believe that enough money has been made available to those affected in Kendal.

"The money is not being spent here," she said. "I don't know if it's going anywhere else - to Carlisle or down south."

Although money has been made available by central government, the application process for flood resilience money can be difficult to understand.

A spokesperson for South Lakeland District Council explained that hundreds of people have already applied for the grant, which can be spent on measures to protect properties against future flooding, and that they were able to help with applications.

“We want as many people as possible to benefit from this grant so we’ve arranged drop-in sessions every week so that anyone applying, or thinking about applying, can come along for advice and information," the spokesperson said. “Our officers will support community schemes to ensure the best possible measures are installed, so if a group of residents or businesses wish to nominate a representative and get in touch we can offer help and advice with the application."

Mr Gregson was also concerned about the media coverage that the floods were receiving, saying that although it was national in December, many have now turned their attentions away from Kendal.

Although he lives just 16 miles away in Kirkby Lonsdale, he said that he had no idea that Kendal residents were still being affected by the impact of the floods.

"I didn't know really that people were still struggling because it's not on the national news agenda," Mr Gregson said. "There's still masses to do."

Mr Gios also believes that more attention needs to be paid to the area on a national level, stating that he thinks both David Cameron and Prince Charles could be doing more for Kendal.

"There are probably now about a quarter of residents who are back," Jonny said. "Kendal is one of the worst affected areas and our town needs support from the Prime Minister."

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, agrees that the news has moved on but has said it has been 'heartening' to see the community response to the floods.

"Local people will be all too aware that, although the water has disappeared and the news cycle long ago moved on, the effects of the floods are very much still being felt," he said. "The ‘Rebuilding Our Communities’ event was a further example of the fantastic community spirit of our area, helping those still suffering the effects of the floods."

Despite the devastation that followed the floods and the long recovery process, Mr Gregson admits that some good has come out of the tragedy, citing Mr Gios's passion and energy for the voluntary projects as one example.

"Quite a lot of people said they had got to know people that they had not really before," he said. "People have come together out of the adversity."