Monmouthshire Building Society donates £10,000 to residents and businesses after flooding

Daniel Bevan - Editor

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Monmouthshire Building Society has donated more than £10,000 to support residents, businesses and community organisations affected by severe flooding in Monmouth last November.

The mutual lender’s local branch was itself impacted by the flooding caused by Storm Claudia, forcing a temporary closure while extensive clean-up and renovation work was carried out.

The branch remained shut for four months before reopening in March.

The scale of the flooding, described as the worst the town had experienced, prompted the building society to provide financial support through its charitable foundation, alongside volunteering efforts to assist with recovery work.

Donations ranging from £200 to nearly £1,000 were distributed to a range of recipients, including Monmouth Town’s football, bowls, rugby and tennis clubs, as well as high street businesses and residents whose homes were severely affected.

Many properties suffered extensive damage, with some residents losing all ground floor furniture during the flooding.

The funds have been used to replace damaged sports equipment, cover sanitisation costs, restore shop stock and furniture, and contribute towards repairs and renovations.

In some cases, support also helped businesses replace essential items such as white goods.

Dawn Gunter, Chief Operating Officer at Monmouthshire Building Society, said: “Seeing the devastation that Storm Claudia wreaked on Monmouth was truly devastating.

“Our branch was under three-foot of water, and we deployed quickly to try and limit the damage to the premises, but also the knock-on effect for our customers.

“But it was the community that really bore the brunt of the flooding.

“Seeing people’s livelihoods, homes and much-loved sporting grounds wrecked by the flooding was awful and we knew that we had to do something.

“These financial donations are a way of us helping this community when it really needed it, and it’s been amazing to see how the community has worked together to support one another to get back on their feet.

“We were proud to play even a small part in that.”

In addition to financial assistance, staff from the Monmouth branch supported customers during the disruption by setting up a temporary pop-up service in the town’s library, ensuring continued access to essential banking services while repairs were underway.

Dawn added: “Our branch staff were amazing in supporting customers during this time, setting up a pop-up service in the local library so customers who needed us had a place to visit.

“Community is key to us at Monmouthshire Building Society and so we were pleased to do whatever we could to help at this time of crisis.”