A chip shop owner whose business was left flooded without insurance says he could be forced to close.

Abdul Chowdry’s shop on Mill Street, Pontypridd, was hit when Storm Bert caused flooding in town last Sunday.

He said he had to downsize after Storm Dennisin February 2020, and was left unable to sell his business.

Other shop owners on Mill Street in Rhondda Cynon Taf town have said they will have to pay out of pocket to recover from the damage caused by Storm Bert.

Mr Chowdry has run the chip for 10 years, but said he feels trapped because he can’t get insurance or any flood cover, and the latest storm cost around £10,000 in damages.

“I can’t sell this place,” he said.

“No one will buy it, I won’t even get what I paid for it.

“It used to be a busy street. But business has been slow for the last two or three years. We’re just surviving.

“I can only have part-time staff, I can’t hire anyone. I used to work eight hours a day, now I work 10 to 12 hours, still not waiting .”

On Wednesday, Mr Chowdry had hoped to reopen his business, but his range of work did not stop due to the flood water.

“In 2020, it took six months to get back to normal,” he said.

“This time, there is no insurance at all. There is not as much damage this time but, financially, we are in trouble.

“I can’t pay the wages right now, I’ll have to let the staff go.”

Several other business owners moved to Mill Street when previous tenants left after Storm Dennis – and he was surprised by the extent of the damage last weekend.

Jeff Baxter, 54, who runs a bookshop, said: “We kind of jumped into the grave. We knew at the time that we wouldn’t get flood cover.

“But the talk during the previous floods was that storm Dennis was a ‘once in 50 years’ type of event.

“The rents were reasonable and cheap, so we went with it.”

He said he lost around £20,000 worth of stock in the floods.

“My view was that we get a lot of yellow warnings and they can pass quickly,” he said.

“It was all fine and then suddenly water started shooting through the drains.”

He continued: “It was gutting, but the pictures of people’s houses are 100 times worse. I was a hot house to go to, and books can be reprinted.”

Mr Baxter planned to move into the larger unit two doors down from his current shop in January.

But this will now be pushed back until at least mid-March.

He said the support received from local people and the book community in general had been great, saying the story was a “wake-up call”.

“People always want to blame others, but I take responsibility. I don’t have floodgates, I was a bit complacent and naive,” he said.

“With the effects of climate change, people want to bury their heads in the sand, they don’t want to face reality.”

However, he said a long-term solution to the insurance issue facing the street was vital.

Mr Baxter said: “The reality is that companies have to ban it completely [on an area] It is a problem and the only solution is government intervention.

“It’s not that people aren’t willing to pay but, after Pontypridd has gone through, we could use that legislative support to give us a chance to help ourselves.”

Enrico Orsi, 33, who runs a small cafe with six employees, said the business he took over was “devastated” after Storm Dennis.

He was on the street when Storm hit Bert, taking deliveries, which allowed him to place sandbags instead.

“If I hadn’t been there in time, we would have done more damage than we did, which means we can’t get flood damage insurance,” he said.

“I think I was lucky, I don’t think I would have been able to stay open if we had done more damage.”

Jayne Coleman, 59, moved into her home shop in March 2022 and explained that the “unique problem” at Mill Street was flooding from the drains at the front of the shops, with the River Rhondda at the back.

“Most insurers do not cover this area… [or] the premium is prohibitive,” she said.

Although some furniture and stock were damaged, she believes she was lucky compared to neighbors.

“The system that was put in place after Storm Dennis seemed to have failed,” she said.

“Who is responsible?

“The blame has already begun… But where does the buck stop?”

James Payne, 31, from Your Pontypridd – a not-for-profit organization funded by local businesses – said he was concerned that none of the shops had insurance.

“I think the first one, Storm Dennis, was so unexpected, it affected the whole town centre,” he added.

“It’s not as bad this time, there’s not as much real estate involved.

“But we will be working on behalf of the businesses in the area to make sure they have all the support they need and can get.”

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said it would offer a Community Flood Recovery Grant of £1,000, on top of a Welsh Government scheme, to both residents and businesses, as well as discretionary funding for flood prevention measures.

He promised to work with all other organizations “to gain a better understanding of what could or can be done to reduce the risk to premises and ensure that whoever is responsible can act on the results “.

Dominic Driver, Storm Bert’s strategic duty manager for Natural Resources Wales (NRW), said measures were taken in the week before the bad weather hit, “to make sure we were ready to deal with whatever the storm might bring”. .

Mr Driver said a flood warning was issued for Pontypridd on Saturday, “to warn people in advance that flooding was possible, and to be prepared”, as well as a further warning on Sunday morning when “the river. [Taff] flood warning trigger level reached”.

He said that “rehabilitation and review work” would now continue.

Welsh Water said flooding in Mill Street was a highway drainage issue, and Rhondda Cynon Taf council was responsible.

A spokesman said the drains had overflowed.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has been asked for comment but, in a statement on Friday, said it was reviewing what happened.

The Met Office said it was important to note that its severe weather warnings differed from the flood warnings, but added: “The forecasting and warning strategy will be fully assessed with our partners … the lessons will be looked at was learned. how links in the chain can be improved to help the UK prepare even more for weather impacts especially as they increase with climate change.”

The Welsh government said it was offering up to £1,000 to affected families, adding that businesses should contact Business Wales, with further dedicated support being considered “as the impact of Storm Bert is better understood “.

He said the parameters of private insurance were set by the UK government, which was contacted, and was not under the control of the Welsh government.