A £3.5 million emergency flooding recovery package co-ordinated by Advantage West Midlands played a crucial role in helping rural towns and businesses and the tourism sector recover from the damaging summer floods in June and July 2007.

The cost of the flooding to the regional economy was between £159 million and £182 million in lost gross value added (GVA) output – but could have been worse had it not been for the prompt response of Advantage West Midlands and key partners including Business Link West Midlands. Initial emergency support was in place within 11 days.

The flooding recovery package  focused on helping the West Midlands economy in those areas worst affected to become operational as soon as possible, raising awareness that the wider region was open for business and visitors, as well as assisting businesses establish individual recovery plans.

Advantage West Midlands commissioned SQW consultants to undertake an Economic Impact Study of the Flooding, which included an independent review of the recovery package which described the response as quick, well co-ordinated and to an appropriate level.

The key elements of the response were:

• £750,000 - Investment for Severn Valley Railway infrastructural repair works, recognising the significant trade generated by the Railway along its route, particularly supporting the North Worcestershire and Bridgnorth economies.

• £450,000 - Investment in tourism marketing campaigns, ensuring that visitors and businesses were aware that much of the region was open for business. It including a “Rain or Shine” voucher campaign in 2007 and a Spring Campaign to kick start the 2008 season.

• £300,000 - Support for the promotion of local festivals and events, reinforcing the message that the region was open for business and generating focal points of trade within the worst affected areas.

• £574,000 - Investment towards infrastructural repairs, to ensure the recovery of public realm to a high standard.  These resources were played through the lead local authorities in the most affected areas.

• £530,000 - Advantage West Midlands and Business Link West Midlands immediately provided affected businesses with access to five days of Adviser support, with a further consultancy grant of £2,500 available for any specialist support and advice required in establishing recovery plans.

• £868,000 Advantage West Midlands and Business Link West Midlands identified that the availability of cash flow was the primary issue, seriously threatening their viability. The Agency established an interest-free bridging loan service of up £20,000 to assist businesses hardest hit to overcome their cash flow problems and to ensure continued operation.

The latest figures from Business Link West Midlands show that including Tourism and Leisure, 448 businesses have received Adviser support totalling over 854 adviser days. Furthermore, 212 have received consultancy funding totalling £270,000. Sixty agricultural businesses have also been supported, 30 of which have received consultancy support and 12 have used the loans scheme.

Mark Pearce, Corporate Director for Economic Regeneration at Advantage West Midlands, said: “Our response was fast and it was direct. It had to be. Images broadcast at the time left the impression the region was closed for business, whilst in the majority of cases flash flooding receded swiftly.

“The flooding particularly affected rural tourism and agricultural sectors and caused significant disruption in a large number of market towns. It was imperative we helped businesses get back on their feet.

“Advantage West Midlands responded quickly to establish an emergency flood recovery package agreed by key local partners. Initial support was in place within 11 working days.

“The Agency is proud of the relationships it has built with local partners. Those relationships with the right people in business, local authorities and local strategic partnerships paid dividends as we focused our support on assisting those areas of the economy worst affected.

“We have learnt some important lessons and we are now working with partners to develop an action plan to tackle any similar shocks to the economy in the future.”

Partners interviewed as part of SQW study said the Agency’s response package was particularly effective because of its mix of marketing support to tourism and financial help to small businesses. It had been put into place very quickly and whilst the physical response to flood damage was clearly determined by the areas most directly affected, the rain or shine voucher scheme related to the whole region and was the best way to attract visitors back.

The study praised the efforts of Local Strategic Partnerships and added that no other single organisation could have fulfilled the role undertaken by Advantage West Midlands because of the Agency’s unique regional and strategic remit between the national and local levels.

The study also said that there was a clear view amongst partners that if Advantage West Midlands had not acted as it did the clearing up process would have taken much longer. One respondent believed that without the Agency there would not have been the same ‘feel-good factor’ of the agencies working together to help the local economy to recover.

Advantage West Midlands is now working with other agencies to establish an action plan about who does what in a future emergency and to establish systems to monitor economic recovery work and preparation for similar events.

Worcestershire County Cricket Club received a £100,000 sponsorship package from Advantage West Midlands. The club lost over £1 million as a result of last year’s flooding and the support from the Agency boosted the New Road club’s business recovery plan.

Mark Newton, Chief Executive at Worcestershire CCC, said: “We made the initial approach for funding support and Advantage West Midlands reacted quickly, understanding the problems that we were going through and showing flexibility in coming up with a solution.

“We are having a terrific season and the support of Advantage West Midlands is not only rejuvenating Worcestershire CCC and its supporters – it’s also helping to rejuvenate the local economy.”

The Severn Valley Railway received funding from Advantage West Midlands for major   infrastructure repair works. The railway suffered damage in 45 separate places along the 16-mile route as a result of the floods.

John Leach, Severn Valley Railway marketing manager, said: “We are extremely grateful for the support from Advantage West Midlands and other agencies which helped us get the railway back into operation for 2008.

“The Severn Valley Railway plays an important role in the tourism economy of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the wider West Midlands region.”

CASE STUDY – Worcestershire doctors’ surgery on the mend

A flooded doctors’ surgery which had to operate out of a nearby school for seven months is gearing up for its first anniversary since it was left under water.

The entire first floor of the DeMontford Medical Centre in Evesham was completely water-logged following last summer’s floods, leaving the practice partners with a clean-up bill of almost £300,000.
But the surgery was thrown a lifeline in the form of an interest-free £20,000 loan jointly arranged by Business Link in the West Midlands and Advantage West Midlands.

Practice partner Dr David Jones picked up the story.

“Most of the costs were recoverable from the insurance companies and the Primary Care Trust but some of the contractors’ bills arrived before the money had come through,” said Dr Jones. “The interest-free loan was a huge help in bridging that gap and we’re indebted to Business Link and Advantage West Midlands.”