Gosport flooding: "Devastated" residents left pick up pieces of ruined homes and businesses - plea for help

Ferocious flood water swept through Village Road and Coward Road in the early hours of April 9, leaving many people homeless. Firefighters had to evacuate residents from 50 homes after water gushed into their properties.

With many homes and businesses having flood exclusions in their insurance policies, concerns about how they would pay for repairs could not be higher. Jennifer Darling, owner of Voluptuous Vintage in Village Road, has set up a GoFundMe page with the Alverstoke Traders Association to support affected families and businesses.

She told The News: “Everyone is devastated. Coward Road and Village Road were the worst hit. The gift shop and the tea room have been completely decimated. The buildings are still really damp and they’re trying to dehumidify them. There is so much damage.”

The 47-year-old said she heard one of the flood defence pumps in the area was broken, but the high tide meant severe damage would have been caused regardless. She added that flood exclusions in insurance policies have become more common in Alverstoke and nationally due to climate change and unpredictable weather in recent years - leaving people in the weeds.

“Nobody has compensation coming and they’ve all lost so much,” she added, “It’s really stressful.” Ms Darling has run Voluptuous Vintage for the past ten years. She said her and her immediate neighbours were lucky enough to escape the flooding, with her business being on an incline, but others weren’t as fortunate.

“There is an incredible amount of worry,” the entrepreneur added, “I’ve spoken to a few victims, and they don’t know what to do next. They’re still in crisis mode and clearing the damage. Businesses still have to pay their rent, business rates, and all the other things, and you just think ‘how are we going to do it with no income?’

“A lot of them are worried they’re going to lose their businesses, but they’re forthright in saying they are lucky to have dry homes to go to, unlike others in the village who are literally living in damp, which is a considerable risk to people’s health.” Ms Darling said the money from the fundraiser will be distributed between individuals and small businesses, with a meeting planned with the traders association to discuss how this will be done.

She added the fundraiser is the final straw, and believes the longer it takes for people to return to their homes, and businesses to reopen, it will have a lasting impact on the village. “Anybody who needs help will get access to some of the funds, whether it’s split equally or by another way,” she said.

“We’ll spread it as far as we can and do as much good as we can. The more we can raise, the more we can do. Unless we can get government funding to help people, this is the last resort. It’s the least we can do, but right now, I think it’s all we can do to help people. Who has thousands of pounds in the bank to replace everything? It’s not like we’re talking about big mansions being ruined, it’s terraced housing and very small solo business owners. It’s desperate for everyone who has been affected.”