Shrewsbury is open for business call

The plea came as Shropshire's Lord Lieutenant visited businesses hit by the floods in Shrewsbury yesterday to hear how owners and staff were coping.

The vast majority of the town centre is now accessible again following the worst flooding since 2000, with business owners working hard to get their premises back in action.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury Business Improvement District, which supports traders and works to promote and enhance the town centre, said the floods had been devastating - but businesses were already getting back on their feet.

"As you can imagine, footfall was hit very hard on Monday and Tuesday, so we have been pushing the message that the town centre is still open for business,” he said.

“We have been using the #open4business hashtag across our Original Shrewsbury social media channels and encouraging businesses to spread the word that they are open and accessible.

“The majority of town centre traders have escaped major problems, and we are doing everything we can to help those who have been directly affected."

Anna Turner, who as Lord Lieutenant is the Queen's representative in Shropshire said she was impressed with the community spirit in Longden Coleham and the work Shropshire Council was doing to set up a flood forum.

She said she wanted to speak to those hit by the floods after reading about their plight.

"It was dreadful reading about how much the floods have affected people and I wanted to show my support. I will be writing to the Queen to keep her informed about how people are coping in Shropshire."

She said it was important that lessons were learnt from the past week.

"With climate change it seems that we could have more and more extreme weather in the future," she said.

"We need to be prepared."

The Lord Lieutenant visited several businesses in Longden Coleham where the water poured into shops and cafes and cut off the community.

She heard from Sam Jewell from House Coffee Co which has just expanded into adjacent premises.

"We are now looking at getting flood gates for our doors, but it is all expense," he said.

"Our customers have been fantastic and arrived in wellies in the floods asking if they could help. We have also been busy today as customers came simply to support us."

Butcher, Jason Coslett, said community spirit was still alive.

"A couple of lads who have a builder's yard came down with a truck full of sand so that the businesses here could make their own sandbags."

Beryl Barry who works in Belle gift shop, said owner, Sue Newham had only just re-decorated when the floods hit.

"She can not get flood insurance for the business and so has to cover the cost herself. I live locally and even though our house has never flooded I still can't get flood insurance simply because of our postcode."

Assistant manger of The Spar in Longden Coleham, Roy Latham, said staff had managed to move stock but said the store had lost frozen items when the fridges failed.

This weekend police said they would be doing patrols of the river and other areas that have been affected by the recent floods.

"If you are heading out tonight please remember the rivers/streams are still very swollen and fast flowing."

Shropshire council said it was continuing to support the community.

"Some of our teams were in Bridgnorth yesterday to help remove damaged property and support residents and businesses affected by the floods," a spokesman said.