Council took out flood insurance in the nick of time

Inside Number One Riverside the night of 26 December after the flood water abated

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Rochdale Borough Council took out insurance cover against flooding at Number One Riverside just in time.

The building was completed late 2012 and opened three years ago in March 2013, however a Freedom of Information request has revealed it was only on the 30 October 2015, less than two months before the devastating flood that hit Rochdale Town Centre on Boxing Day, that the policy was taken out.

The £50 million building alongside the River Roch, designed to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ where residents can complete their council business in one visit to one location, houses staff from the council, NHS and Rochdale Development Agency (RDA).

Despite the insurance policy, taxpayers still face a hefty bill for the damage as the policy has a £100,000 excess.

The total cost of the damage, and hence the amount that will be claimed on the policy, is as yet unknown.

The clean up starts inside Number One Riverside after the devastating flood

Two weeks prior to the flood, Rochdale Online raised concerns with the Council as on the 12 December the river was swollen to the point it was almost at the roof of the culvert adjacent to Number One Riverside going under the Metrolink stop.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/99814/river-roch-swollen-by-heavy-rain

At the time, the Council felt the river channel could cope, a spokesman said: "We are continually monitoring the situation and, at the moment, the river channel has capacity to deal with the excess water."

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/99874/council-responds-to-river-roch-flooding-concern

However, levels on the Roch were the highest ever recorded after intense rainfall on Boxing Day fell on the already saturated land and the river burst it banks behind Number One Riverside and also overtopped at the entrance to the culvert between Riverside and the Transport Interchange sending flood water cascading through Rochdale town centre.

The council's servers, located at Number One Riverside, had to be switched off when flood water began to enter the building and in doing so shut down the council website and email system.

Following a major clean up operation, Number One Riverside re-opened on Monday 4 January but the ground floor library remains closed due to the damage caused by the flood.