Businesses and homeowners affected by flooding in St Albans can look forward to a possible windfall of up to £5,000 from the district council.

Those affected by the storms between December 1 and March 31 could be entitled to business rates relief and owners of flooded homes could receive funding for Council Tax discounts.

St Albans District Council has introduced the renewal grant scheme after the Government announced it would be providing funds for additional resilience or resistance measures to bale out homes and businesses affected by the floods.

The grant will not provide funding for damage and items that should be claimed through insurance.

One company looking to benefit is The Green Dragon in Waterside, London Colney, which was forced to close for a day in February when the River Colne burst its banks..

St Albans & Harpenden Review:

The flooded pub

Owner Julie Vandoorn, who has been at the pub for 10 years, said she had lost thousands of pounds in trade because customers thought The Green Dragon was closed.

She said: "It was a disastrous week and even now we are still getting back on our feet. 

"We lost around £8,000 in a week. We were forced to close one day and the rest of the week customers didn’t come in because they assumed we were still shut. We are still receiving calls asking us if we are open now.

"There was one day when our delivery could not get to us, so I had to pay someone to pick it up from Milton Keynes.

"The council help is brilliant news."

To be eligible for a support grant, businesses have to show they were significantly affected by the flood. This could be due to significant loss of income as a result of road closures.

Councillor Alec Campbell said: "Any businesses or homeowner that thinks they are eligible for a flood resilience grant or a reduction in business rates or Council Tax should contact the council.

"We will then carry out an assessment to see what type of support they are entitled to."

Any requests for support must be supported by evidence and grants will not available for the failure of a water main, internal water system or sewerage system, unless the failure was caused by the flooding.

The council will now be writing to homeowners and businesses that they believe were affected by the flooding.

Any businesses and homeowners that consider they are eligible for support, should contact the council on 01727 866100 or email Floodingsupport@stalbans.gov.uk.