Our Sovereign Court office will remain closed until further notice due to flooding in the Meadowhall area.
Heavy rain throughout Thursday 7 November caused Blackburn Brook, which runs alongside Meadowhall Road and Barrow Road, to burst its banks. Flood waters rose up to around 3 feet deep and swamped Sovereign Court's car park and ground floor. Raw sewerage was seen floating in the water.
The Efficiency North team all safely evacuated at lunchtime when the seriousness of the emerging situation became apparent and before the area became cut off by flood water and traffic was gridlocked.
Chief Executive Lee Parkinson, who lives in Darlington, decamped to the Travelodge Hotel across the road from Sovereign Court. His room offered a perfect birds eye view over Meadowhall and the office which gave him the opportunity to take photos and videos of the dramatic events unfolding. These were then picked up from social media and used on most national news channels.
Lee gave an interview on BBC TV Look North evening show from Yorkshire Housing's flooded ground floor offices broadcast on Friday 8 November. You can view this on BBC Iplayer HERE (21 minutes in)
The flooding subsided overnight on Friday 8 November, however the roads around Meadowhall Road / Barrow Road were still closed whilst cars were recovered and gullies are unblocked. The ground floor of Sovereign Court has been flooded by approximately 60 cm of water and will need to be completely refurbished as a consequence. The car park is covered in silt and mud and will need to be cleared to make the building accessible. Efficiency North has offered the use of meeting rooms on the first floor to Yorkshire Housing so that their staff can continue to work in a temporary setting until refurbishment works are completed.
Lee Parkinson commented; "We would like to reassure our members and clients that we will continue to maintain our services, business as usual, through our remote working system. Thanks to all staff for their support and efforts in maintaining business continuity through this challenging time."
The planned date for Efficiency North to return to Sovereign Court is Thursday 14 November.
We will continue to provide updates on this page and on social media.
Please contact our Newport office in the meantime with any urgent queries. These can then be passed on to relevant staff.