STEPS are being taken to avoid further confusion in the way flood protection sacks are distributed in a dale village.
FloodSax – a type of sandless sandbag – were bought by Middleton-in-Teesdale and Newbiggin Parish Council last year to stop households flooding after previous incidents. Contributions were also made by Eggleston Parish Council.They have been stored at Middleton’s fire station and are deployed by fire and rescue staff as they see fit.
But in January, a California Row resident removed all the FloodSax following a severe weather alert. Fire station staff had been under the assumption the resident was a member of the parish council.
The sacks were returned to the fire station when the risk of flooding receded. At their last meeting, parish councillos discussed a more effective plan for storing and deploying the sacks. Cllr Adam Hearn said the fire station was the best place to store them.
He added: “If they are stored at the fire station, we know they will be kept dry and in good condition, rather than someone having them in a garden shed.”
Cllr Christine Gilbert asked how someone would get them when the station was closed. She defended the actions of the resident, saying it had been the “sensible” thing to do in the circumstances and pointed out that to gain access to the station someone needs to dial 999.
Cllr Nickie Hough suggested speaking with village company Technimark because some members of staff are retained firefighters. Sixty FloodSax were purchased four years ago, although some have been used since then. Members agreed residents should not be charged for their use and they voted to buy more.
Cllr Kevin Tallentire said: “It is not a massive amount of money for the parish council to take on and we should give them out free of charge. It could create confusion signing them in and out and working out who owes what.”
But Cllr Hearn said: “I’m not wishing to be a grinch, but when we bought them, we invited residents to order them with us to get a discount. The stock we have is for emergency use for people who live in houses. The ones let by the parish council were for unexpected emergency use, not for households who could go and buy them themselves.”
Cllr Andy Mitchell will speak to the fire service to clarify the situation regarding keyholders for the building.
