'I expect the council to tell the truth': Dallington Brook residents still homeless nearly six months after devastating flooding hit Northampton

Northampton locals whose homes were flooded almost six months ago have criticised the council for a lack of support and answers, after being forced to vacate their properties and being left essentially ‘homeless’.

Residents living near Dallington Brook were heavily impacted by the flooding that took place across Northamptonshire in September 2024. Still faced with gutted-out homes and anxiety about the future, homeowners have complained that the council has ‘left them in the dark’ and not provided enough support since the downpour last year.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said it is prioritising working with partners to find sustainable, long-term solutions to ensure residents’ welfare. It added that residents experiencing hardship may be able to apply for a council tax reduction on a case-by-case basis.

Alan Walters, who has lived in his Northampton home for over a decade, said that it would likely be another six months before he’s able to move back in.

He said: “We don’t appear to have had any support from our local council whatsoever and when we turn to them for help, in particular on paying council tax, we seem to have drawn a blank. We’re still left in the dark and when you chase the council you’re just given the runaround.”

Another victim of the flooding, Jason Fletcher explained that his family has been forced to move into a rented unit while work is carried out on his home. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he is currently paying two council tax bills for both his rental accommodation and the family home he can no longer stay in- a similar story for other flooded residents.

“When our council tax restarts again in April my personal council tax bill is going to be £700 a month,” he said, “I don’t think that’s actually fair because we can’t be in that house.”

Jason explained that the impact of the floods had not only been financially crushing, but had also had a massive effect on the community mentally and emotionally. He said his 10-year-old son, who has autism, has been really impacted by the flooding and displacement.

“He still has really intrusive thoughts about it. If we come back to the house he gets really, really dysregulated and quite upset by it. Now that we’ve been where we are for a couple of months now things are slowly getting a bit easier. He wants to come home, but he can’t because there’s no home to come back to at the moment.”

‘It’s a long time to be homeless’

Dallington local Marjorie Cook has lived in her now-empty home for 20 years. She said she had to spend her first Christmas out of the property in 2024.

She told the LDRS: “We are homeless because [the council] didn’t clean the drains out- and it’s a long time to be homeless. I’ve rented on a short-term lease, and I’m out now and need to find somewhere else. It’s not easy and it’s just expensive.

“Nothing seems to be happening. If they haven’t done anything, we’re going to be flooded again and that’s something that’s really concerning for everyone in the village.”

Describing her house at the moment, local resident Gita Jrit said: “I have no floors, there’s no heating, there’s nothing. It’s horrible going back [home]. When you look at where we’re living it’s all just sandbags and nothing else.”

She said her main issue with the handling of the situation by WNC was the lack of communication since the floods. She added: “They’re happy to take your money, but they’re not happy to keep you in the loop. Although it’s very important to us, they have bigger issues.

“I expect [the council] to tell the truth and I expect them to say ‘I’m very sorry, this is what happened, we made a mistake, we will do what we said we would by you not paying council tax and we’re going to look after you’.”

Speaking about the night that their neighbourhood flooded, locals described it as “soul-destroying”. They said they felt “helpless”, with some home-owners taking it into their own hands to try pull out debris and unblock the brook.

Jason said: “You could see the inevitability of it, so it eventually got to the point where we knew we had to go inside and go upstairs. My wife was coaching my son saying we’ve got to take everything upstairs and water’s going to come in the house, it’s okay and we’ll be alright.”

Questions have been raised by the community on what actually happened on the day of the floods, with many blaming the council’s failure to unblock drains and wanting to see a full root cause analysis. WNC did not directly comment on these accusations.

Council reaffirms commitment to tackling flooding

Ward councillor for the area, Rufia Ashraf, told the LDRS: “We want to be able to prevent this from happening again. I’m just so shocked that for a number of enquiries and people that I’m talking to, no one has even bothered to come down and see how they’re doing. I would like the council to apologise because [they] should not have been treated like this.”

A spokesperson for West Northamptonshire Council said: “West Northamptonshire Council understands that flooding can have a significant impact on people’s lives and in November we reaffirmed our commitment to tackling the risks and impacts of flooding in West Northamptonshire.

“Government has confirmed that the Council is not eligible for statutory flood support. We are prioritising working with partners to find sustainable, long-term solutions ensuring that the welfare of residents and livelihoods of businesses are at the centre.

“There are no statutory discounts available to people suffering flood damage, and we would always encourage residents to contact their insurance provider for financial support in the first instance. However, residents that are experiencing hardship due to the impact of flooding may be able to apply for a Council Tax reduction under our hardship policy. Each applicant is considered on a case-by-case basis and more information is available on our website.

“For further information on flooding advice and flood risk management, visit our flooding and flood risk management page.”