MP praises flood response – “Community spirit has always been at the heart of Wrexham and this week has been no exception”

Wrexham’s MP Sarah Atherton has praised the “unbelievable” work of the emergency services and Wrexham Council in responding to the floods caused by Storm Christoph this week.

Sarah Atherton MP said last night, “Understandably I have been contacted by many concerned constituents this week about the devastating impact of the storm. I have been in communication with Natural Resources Wales, government ministers and council leaders following their Gold Multiagency meeting today. This morning I also met with the local Police: their response to the floods has been brilliant.”

“Community spirit has always been at the heart of Wrexham and this week has been no exception. Wrexham has and will continue to rally around those who need it. Please contact my office if you need help.”

“People in the Wrexham constituency have not needed to be evacuated, but some homes have been damaged. Rossett remains on the watch list for flooding over the weekend and into next week. The North of the Wrexham Constituency, Holt and Rossett, is where concern remains after, Bangor on Dee to the South of the River Dee, breached its banks causing considerable flooding. ”

Pointing to ‘incorrect reports in national and international press’ Atherton said: “I was greatly relieved this week to hear that the surface water flooding at the COVID-19 vaccine fill finish facility was not as severe as media reports suggested. The onsite team dealt swiftly with the excess water, no buildings or facilities were compromised. I was very thankful to the Vaccines Minister, Nadhim Zahawi MP and the Secretary of State for Wales for stepping in on social media and dispelling any fear about disruption to the vaccine”.

Ravi Limaye, Managing Director of Wockhardt UK added, “Our team here in Wrexham is dedicated to the highest quality of manufacturing operations at our world class manufacturing facility.  Our robust business continuity plans mean we are prepared for eventualities that could affect operations.  Our on-site team acted swiftly to ensure that the potential for risk of flooding on site did not become an issue.  No operations were affected and we are proud to be part of the national effort to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.” 

Sarah Atherton added, “2021 is turning out to be challenging year already, with COVID 19 and the struggles with the vaccine roll out in Wales. These floods have been extremely unhelpful. However, I stand ready to work with the council to assess the environmental flood scheme and defences going forward and I cannot thank all those who have responded to the floods enough.”