IT has been a three-month nightmare for a Ludlow couple that started when their house was flooded in February.

Paul and Margaret Kevern had to move out of their listed home after it was flooded on February 16.

They had to find alternative accommodation and are renting a property in Castle Street.

This was necessary because their home was made uninhabitable with the ground floor having to be completely stripped out and they were left without any heating or hot water.

After contacting their insurance company, it was hoped that work could begin quickly but then Covid-19 took a hand in proceedings.

The arrival of the virus came before the building had time to dry out and in any event the builders could not get the materials needed and would not have been able to do the work anyway.

Because the house dates back 500 years it was also necessary to get approval from conservation experts but the office dealing with this was also closed by the virus.

The situation has been made even more difficult because Mr Kevern, aged 66, has to self-isolate and shield himself because he had a kidney transplant in 2013.

Because of this he still must keep away from other people and is not included in the group that have now been told that they can go out once a day.

As if all this were not enough the couple were originally told by Shropshire Council that they would have to pay Council Tax on both their uninhabitable flood damaged home and the property that they are renting.

After a lot of chasing and telephone calls this was resolved but it has left another problem.

They made an application for a resilience grant worth up to £5,000.

“Our insurance would only replace like for like so we applied for a resilience grant,” said Mr Kevern.

This would enable them to make changes such as creating a ground floor wet room that would be able to cope with a future flood.

It would also allow lime mortar to be used as part of the repair. In the event of a future flood this should be able to cope and could be left to dry out rather than have to be replaced.

The resilience loan is provided by the Government but administered by Shropshire Council.

However, Shropshire Council do not know how to administer it according to Mr Kevern.

He was sent a message from the Shropshire Council flood team:

‘Unfortunately, Shropshire Council are not yet in a position to promote the Resilience Grant. I am however hopeful that we will have the application form ready to be published in the next week or so. This will allow Shropshire Council to register you for the scheme but there are still several steps which must be followed before funding can be made available.

‘I understand that you wish to proceed with works as soon as possible and I am working hard to ensure this scheme is up and running as quickly as possible. All Councils are struggling with this at present as the guidance form DEFRA on how to distribute this has not been helpful. Please be aware that as previously stated there is currently no process to fund retrospective applications.

‘It’s also worth noting that this funding will only apply to measures which are above and beyond what would be covered by your insurance company. If you are replacing like for like this would not be covered. Any measures must make your property either more resistant or resilient to future floods.’

This means that Mr and Mrs Kevern who want to get back into their home as quickly as possible would be unable to claim the grant unless they further delay the repairs to their property.