Toddbrook crisis cost Derbyshire County Council £700,000

THE Derbyshire County Council has confirmed that the cost of the Toddbrook Reservoir crises cost it £700,000.

This included 226 payments that were made to residents from the hardship fund with the county council putting in an extra £100,000 to support businesses and the self employed that were effected when an whole community had to be evacuated from the threat of millions of gallons of water bursting from the stricken dam that would have caused a threat to life and catastrophic damage to the town.

Matched council's efforts

The Government and High Peak Borough Council matched the county council's efforts with their own grants for businesses.

The Derbyshire Emergency Volunteers provided vital assistance where it was needed, supporting the people , distributing food and vital supplies and setting up an emergency helpline that dealt with nearly 900 calls.

To secure the dam it needed the services of a Chinook helicopter from RAF Odiham which was commissioned for a combined 72 hours over several days to drop more than 600 tonnes of sand, gravel and stone on the damaged Toddbrook Dam at a cost of £1.3 million.

Rest on the investigation

The council expected to have to cover this, but it is understood other agencies met the cost, and it now rests on the outcome of the official investigation.