"It really is a community in itself, and everybody is helping everybody else" - Businesses in flood-hit Dean Clough rally round after Storm Ciara

Several companies at Dean Clough were victims of Storm Ciara, either due to water damage or having to temporarily close.

The True North restaurant escaped any damage but was forced to close on Sunday, resulting in a loss of earnings.

Sarah Horsley, owner of the restaurant, said: "It was bad. We're in the bottom of a valley and a lot of Dean Clough was affected.

"The Hairloom, Sunmaster Holidays, the Viaduct Theatre and The Arches were all hit, as were a lot of other businesses as well.

"A lot of furniture had to be taken out of The Hairloom, and a lot of ceiling tiles, electrics and stock had to be taken out of The Arches,

"There's a lot of concrete and stone so there's no natural drainage here.

"The roadworks around Dean Clough have caused a lot of bother, but Dean Clough did what they could.

"It's just the situation the world finds itself in these days.

"But everybody in Dean Clough has rallied round. It really is a community in itself, and everybody is helping everybody else.

"My message would be for people to now support their local businesses, whether it's liking and sharing things on social media, buying their products or donating to fundraising efforts."

Collette Pickering, from the 1904 at Dean Clough pub, was unhappy at the provision of flood prevention measures at the complex.

She said: "It's not just us that's been affected, the entire industrial park has been completely ruined.

"There is one grid outside the pub, and one more grid up the road.

"We didn't have anyone come down and check on us, we've had no help whatsoever.

"There's barely any flood prevention.

"We've lost thousands of pounds because our cellar was flooded.

"The glass company near us have lost thousands of pounds worth of glass and drills, and the gym behind us have had to get rid of their treadmills.

"We're all self-employed so it's our own money going into these businesses.

"I'm having to take time off my other job to help out. The owner is absolutely heartbroken because she's put everything into the business.

"Where was the help? Where was the flood prevention? Is there anything they can do in future because it's going to happen again unless somebody does something about it.

"It's not fair."

Due to the flooding, the IOU Theatre, based at Dean Clough, have been forced to postpone the launch of their Speaking Tubes exhibition that was scheduled for Saturday.

A new date for the opening will be announced in the near future.

Jeremy Hall, Chairman and Managing Director of Dean Clough Ltd said: “The flooding on Sunday was a devastating event for our area and region, it’s truly heartbreaking to see so many people and businesses affected by these calamitous events once again.

"Although the flood alleviation measures we implemented post 2015 were successful, the quantity of water on Sunday was beyond what we experienced then, and thus resulted in flooding in different areas of the site.

"There was a wonderful response from so many of Dean Clough’s long standing team, contractors and customers within minutes of events occurring, who worked tirelessly throughout the day and some throughout the night, to do all that they could to mitigate the damage and restore people’s premises to ensure that they would be operational again as soon as was possible.

"There is still work to be done to have everything back to normal, but I feel privileged to be part of a community that illustrates its values and displays such dedication and care in the face of adversity."

In a statement, Dean Clough said: "Dean Clough Ltd take the potential threat of flooding very seriously as the safety and well-being of our customers is our utmost priority.

"Since the Boxing Day floods in 2015 we have worked alongside Calderdale Council and the Environment Agency to put several preventative measures in place.

"Following advice sought after the flooding of F Mill car park in 2015, we installed a large capacity channel/drain covering the area between F Mill & E Mill car parks to allow the water to drop into the brook and take the flood water away.

"This preventative measure proved successful on Sunday and prevented businesses in F Mill and E Mill from flooding.

"Also since 2015, flood doors have been added to the electricity sub stations in both E Mill and Bowling Mill to ensure that even if water entered the courtyards then the sub stations would be safe and would still continue to supply electricity to businesses across the site.

"Again, the flood doors proved successful and enabled business continuity with no interruption to the electricity supply on Sunday.

"In addition to these preventative installations, we undertake regular inspections and cleaning across the site. These include inspections and cleaning of drains and gullies and the cleaning of the Hebble Brook which runs through the site.

"We also have trained personnel on site 24/7 who can respond quickly and monitor situations covering a whole host of eventualities.

"On Sunday we received alerts from the Environment Agency and immediately our security team placed sandbags each side of the bridge, alongside the Hebble Brook in Bowling Mill courtyard.

"Unfortunately, due to the speed and strength of the water the sandbags were washed into the brook and into the middle of the car park. Post the initial event, we subsequently blocked the opening from the bridge into Bowling Mill courtyard and further sandbags were purchased to put by all doors as a precaution against further flooding.

"Within minutes of the alert, senior members of Dean Clough team were on site to assess the severity of the situation and following the assessment, contractors and our full response team were on site within the hour to mitigate the damage and implement the cleaning and management of the incident.

"The Dean Clough community really pulled together with members of off duty staff, senior management and their families, customers and contractors all working together to deal with the initial crisis and then the aftermath of the clean up and repair.

"During this time, The Loom Lounge provided much needed warm coffee and Babar Khan warm food.

"Teams of people helped in whatever way they could and our contract cleaners and other contractors worked tirelessly with affected businesses to clear up the mess.

"Once the water receded below the flood line we used our snow plough to clear the remaining water and overnight a road sweeper cleared the site of the inevitable sludge to ensure everyone had access to the site on Monday morning.

"We also checked Old Lane (which runs to the rear of the site) where there was a large accumulation of water remaining, making it impassable and causing leaks into F Mill. As we realised Calderdale Council would be busy in other areas we engaged a contractor to unblock the drains.

"We have been in constant liaison with the affected businesses since the flooding to ensure that they were open for business asap. There is also an open invitation for any of our customers to contact us directly if they wish to discuss issues relating to the floods.

"Out of some 150 businesses at Dean Clough, although many had been impacted due to lifts and various equipment being affected, only one business remained closed on Monday evening. However, people were still affected travelling to Dean Clough due to the flooding on the surrounding roads.

"We have received a lot of feedback from our customers who appreciated the hard work which the whole Dean Clough community had undertaken on Sunday. TotSpot Nursery commented on Facebook saying: “Phew! Looks like we escaped #stormciara pretty much unscathed. Thanks to everyone at Dean Clough for all their efforts yesterday in clearing the car park and the surrounding area. We are open as usual”."