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Boscastle Under Water (Including The Museum Of Witchcraft)

I posted this on another thread one week ago, but it's worth repeating here:
Labour never gets many votes in Cornwall. This time they'll likely get even less - headline story in regional paper:
BOSCASTLE AID BOMBSHELL
11:00 - 17 March 2005
John Prescott accused after finance refused

The Government has been accused of "hypocrisy" after it emerged that taxpayers in Cornwall will have to pick up a £760,000 bill from the Boscastle flood disaster.

News that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had refused the county council financial help for rebuilding the infrastructure of the flood-devastated community, was yesterday greeted with anger and disbelief by members of the council's executive.

Some accused the Government of letting down both the county council and the people of Cornwall by turning its back on pledges made in the aftermath of the August disaster, including promises made by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott when he visited Boscastle.

"To have a very senior politician turn up and score points from a publicity stunt and then six months later, after we have been through all the twisted bureaucracy, say there's nothing forthcoming is unfair," Coun Bert Biscoe said.

"I think it is hypocritical of the Government to make compassionate sounding noises on the day and then later find a way of wriggling out of paying what is a relatively small amount of money for them."

Council leader John Lobb added: "Mr Prescott was very positive about his support when he visited Cornwall but we have not received any money."

The county council is already left with a bill of £176,000 from the floods. But final costs are predicted to rise to £760,000, most of which is needed to repair the road network.

The council believed that the Government would provide extra funding after comments made by Mr Prescott during his visit to Boscastle on August 17.

At the time Mr Prescott said: "We will do whatever we can to help. There are procedures that governments can give assistance in these matters - we will be talking that over at a later stage."

But attempts to access the funds have been frustrated, and Mr Prescott's office has now indicated that no more money will be made available.

The Environment Agency called the flood "one of the most extreme ever" in Britain.

Since 1989, emergency financial assistance has been available to local authorities under the Bellwin scheme. Named after a previous environment minister, it is to help with uninsurable clear-up costs following a disaster or emergency in an area that involves destruction or danger to life and property.

It was confirmed last month that North Cornwall District Council received the full sum it claimed, £447,000. Of that, £89,000 was for Devon and Cornwall Police and £16,000 for the Environment Agency.

The overall cost of the flood was estimated to be tens of millions of pounds. One leading insurer revealed that it alone would be paying £3 million to customers in Boscastle.

Yesterday, the council's ruling executive resolved to seek an urgent meeting with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Last night a spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said the bid had not met the necessary criteria. He said: "After last year's floods, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Government would do 'whatever it could' to help. Following this pledge Mr Prescott gave North Cornwall District Council almost £500,000 under the Bellwin Scheme. Cornwall County Council also asked the Department for Transport (DfT) for £1.35 million to pay for road repairs. DfT policy is only to fund emergency repairs where the cost is more than 15 per cent of the county's annual local transport plan capital allocations for highway maintenance. Unfortunately under the DfT's rules, Cornwall did not qualify for financial help."[/unquote]
 
I posted this on another thread one week ago, but it's worth repeating here:
Labour never gets many votes in Cornwall. This time they'll likely get even less - headline story in regional paper:


BOSCASTLE AID BOMBSHELL
11:00 - 17 March 2005
John Prescott accused after finance refused

The Government has been accused of "hypocrisy" after it emerged that taxpayers in Cornwall will have to pick up a £760,000 bill from the Boscastle flood disaster.

News that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had refused the county council financial help for rebuilding the infrastructure of the flood-devastated community, was yesterday greeted with anger and disbelief by members of the council's executive.

Some accused the Government of letting down both the county council and the people of Cornwall by turning its back on pledges made in the aftermath of the August disaster, including promises made by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott when he visited Boscastle.

"To have a very senior politician turn up and score points from a publicity stunt and then six months later, after we have been through all the twisted bureaucracy, say there's nothing forthcoming is unfair," Coun Bert Biscoe said.

"I think it is hypocritical of the Government to make compassionate sounding noises on the day and then later find a way of wriggling out of paying what is a relatively small amount of money for them."

Council leader John Lobb added: "Mr Prescott was very positive about his support when he visited Cornwall but we have not received any money."

The county council is already left with a bill of £176,000 from the floods. But final costs are predicted to rise to £760,000, most of which is needed to repair the road network.

The council believed that the Government would provide extra funding after comments made by Mr Prescott during his visit to Boscastle on August 17.

At the time Mr Prescott said: "We will do whatever we can to help. There are procedures that governments can give assistance in these matters - we will be talking that over at a later stage."

But attempts to access the funds have been frustrated, and Mr Prescott's office has now indicated that no more money will be made available.

The Environment Agency called the flood "one of the most extreme ever" in Britain.

Since 1989, emergency financial assistance has been available to local authorities under the Bellwin scheme. Named after a previous environment minister, it is to help with uninsurable clear-up costs following a disaster or emergency in an area that involves destruction or danger to life and property.

It was confirmed last month that North Cornwall District Council received the full sum it claimed, £447,000. Of that, £89,000 was for Devon and Cornwall Police and £16,000 for the Environment Agency.

The overall cost of the flood was estimated to be tens of millions of pounds. One leading insurer revealed that it alone would be paying £3 million to customers in Boscastle.

Yesterday, the council's ruling executive resolved to seek an urgent meeting with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Last night a spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said the bid had not met the necessary criteria. He said: "After last year's floods, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Government would do 'whatever it could' to help. Following this pledge Mr Prescott gave North Cornwall District Council almost £500,000 under the Bellwin Scheme. Cornwall County Council also asked the Department for Transport (DfT) for £1.35 million to pay for road repairs. DfT policy is only to fund emergency repairs where the cost is more than 15 per cent of the county's annual local transport plan capital allocations for highway maintenance. Unfortunately under the DfT's rules, Cornwall did not qualify for financial help."
 
Anger over village rebuild delays

Businesses in Boscastle are blaming bureaucratic problems for not being able to re-open in time for Easter.
Many attractions are open but other traders aiming to be back in business by Good Friday have not been so lucky.

Building contractors say they have done all they can to meet deadlines, but it has not been possible in every case.

The village was flooded when a 10ft (3 metre) wall of water crashed through it after 3in (77mm) of rain fell in just two hours on 16 August last year.

'Major disaster'

Traders who have not reopened have blamed North Cornwall District Council and builders for delays and failure to inspect the re-building work as it has progressed.

John Smart, who owns the Spinning Wheel restaurant in Bridge Walk, said it would be another five or six weeks before he could reopen.

He said: "All kinds of problems have delayed the progress. Work hasn't synchronised with materials arriving or labour available.

"Also, every piece of building work that concerns safety has not been checked by safety inspectors, and at the same time the builders and surveyors have not been asking 'Where are the building surveyors?'."

At Boscastle Bakery, owner Nev Chamberlain said he would not be open for another two weeks and he had also encountered bureaucratic problems.

He said: "They're all blaming each other, unfortunately. Builders are blaming planners and planners are blaming builders."

North Cornwall District Council said the onus was on the construction company to notify the council at the various stages.

In a statement, Rok Construction said that as soon as it was made aware that inspection cards had not been issued in respect of some of the properties, it arranged to meet the council's building control team.

Rok said it was confident the issue would be resolved swiftly with no disruption to the remaining programme of work and that other business people were entirely satisfied with the timescale and standard of the work.

Museum of Witchcraft owner Graham King said it had been a difficult time for everyone.

He said: "We have to feel sorry for the guys that haven't made it in time for Easter, but it was a major disaster and there were bound to be problems."
Lack of government support can't help....
 
I thought if I searched long enough I would find this sort of comment on Boscastle...

Boscastle Disaster

A Christian friend pointed me to an article on the flooding of Boscastle in Cornwall, UK. No-one was killed or seriously injured, but there has been extensive structural damage. Prince Charles visited the village and made a substantial grant to help, something we do not think he has done before.

The point being made by my friend was that this village houses a witchcraft museum. I also have reported previously on the active interest the Prince has shown in the occult. Was this severe damage a judgement from God on the village?

Many Christians I know do not take God’s wrath seriously, and do not think that He punishes people in this way today. I can assure them that He does. It might be a mistake, therefore, to just pass this off as a ‘natural’ disaster. How can the locals allow such an evil museum to exist in their village?

http://www.christiandoctrine.net/doctrine/periodicals/british_beacon/beacon_81_august_2004_web.htm
 
On the other hand the Witchcraft museum is back, while the Christian Harbour Light's Bookshop was completely wiped out... :roll:
 
Timble said:
On the other hand the Witchcraft museum is back, while the Christian Harbour Light's Bookshop was completely wiped out... :roll:

That's why, I think, for the most part there has been little talk about "God's judgement" of Boscastle. I knew some fool would come out with it sooner or later though...
 
Boscastle on alert over flooding

Shops and properties have been under about 2ft (610mm) of water in a Cornish village devastated by flooding in 2004.
Cars have also been abandoned in Boscastle after torrential rain hit the village.

Cornwall Fire Brigade, which has crews pumping out water and helping residents, said the worst affected area was by the harbour.

The Environment Agency said the flooding has been caused by prolonged rain, which has now eased.

Paul Gainey told BBC News: "This is road flooding caused by about 30mm of rain falling in the past hour.

Customers trapped

"This is just surface water - there is no river water flooding.

"The low pressure area which brought the rain is starting to move away to the north east and should be clear in about an hour [2000 BST]."

Mr Gainey said residents were using sandbags to protect their properties.

"It's a muddy mess - we didn't expect to see again," said one resident.

On 16 August 2004 torrential rain caused an estimated 440 million gallons of flood water to pour through the historic village, devastating many buildings and washing vehicles into the harbour and beyond.

Staff and customers at Clovelly Clothing on the harbourside were trapped for a time by rising floodwater. They have now been able to safely leave the shop.

Rose Martin, who lives at the top of the village, said she was worried the village was about to experience a repeat of the devastation.

"Our conservatory was really shaking with the pressure of the rain," she said.

"Exactly like it did three years ago and I thought 'Oh God, here we go again'."

The fire brigade said the river has not burst its banks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6228422.stm

Paul Gainey (assuming it's the same one) is a well known Cornish marine life expert.
 
A happy postscript to this story:

Fish return to flood-hit Boscastle river

Salmon and trout have been returning in large numbers to the river which passes through Boscastle, the Cornish village devastated by floods in 2004.

An estimated 440 million gallons of flood water poured through the historic village, washing vehicles into the harbour and beyond.

Floodwater swept away most of the fish in the River Valency, seeing numbers drop to a 20-year low.

Now the Environment Agency says the fish have come back.

Fisheries officer Rob Hurrell, said: "We're very pleased.

"It means the number of young salmon and trout have increased.

"It's also good for residents because they have healthy water quality."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-11001469
 
I visited the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle yesterday - I still cannot believe it has been 15 years since I saw the devastating flooding on the News. The trip did confirm one small story for me though: I half-read that a wooden sign for the "Witches Cottage" had been swept away out to sea with so much of the debris, but had been later discovered on a beach in Wales. I suspect I had seen this on the web-page of the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities (the best WunderKabinett combined with a Tapas & Cocktail Bar in Hackney), as it was collaborating with the Boscastle Museum on an exhibition last year.
I mentioned the sign to the Museum Staff who were sufficiently intrigued to phone up a colleague who had been around long enough to remember. Yes, the sign had been found in Wales and the discoverer had travelled to Boscastle to hand it over to the Museum personally.
If it had been me, I would have been tempted to have kept it.
 
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