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Two years ago, Hemel Hempstead was thrust into the national spotlight when a massive explosion at Buncefield Oil Depot caused Europe's largest peacetime fire for half a century. Now, a newly-published report details the community recovery work which has gone on since. When the fire was out and the emergency response over, a local community taskforce, led by Dacorum BC, was set up to co-ordinate recovery work. Community recovery is a challenge that has been faced by councils across the country in the aftermath of this summer's floods. In publishing the report, Dacorum hopes its experience will benefit others. As the council's director of communities, customers and housing, I chaired the Buncefield community recovery taskforce. The situation we faced was on a scale which hadn't been encountered locally, and was beyond the experience of many authorities nationally. We looked for information about how other authorities had approached community support following a major incident, but found that actually, very little had been documented. We want to change that. The issues faced by the taskforce will, no doubt, be familiar to local authorities leading the response in flood-stricken areas. The blast damaged hundreds of homes and businesses. The taskforce report documents the insurance problems faced by residents, particularly those making big claims. Delays in sending out loss adjusters, protracted investigations, ongoing negotiations with insurance companies and rising premiums have added to the stress experienced by residents. And, as with the summer floods, many people found themselves under-insured. An early financial lifeline came from a recovery fund which made its first ‘sticking plaster' pay outs within days of the incident. The fund, administered by a local charity, the Dacorum Community Trust, has now reached £420,000 – much of this was donated by Total, the depot operator – and has made 1,471 grants totalling £357,000. Damage to companies on the Maylands industrial estate – which bore the brunt of the explosion – resulted in many casual and agency workers losing work and income. Unemployment resulting from the explosion has increased steadily, and redundancies have now passed the 1,000 mark. The result has been rising debt and a demand for retraining for those affected. The taskforce, which included representatives from key public sector and voluntary agencies, as well as community groups, met weekly from January 2006. By coming together early on, the taskforce was able to build a picture of the impact which individual organisations would not have been able to match. The involvement of voluntary and community organisations proved crucial in providing detailed intelligence of the situation on the ground, which might not have been picked up by statutory organisations alone. Some individuals chose not to register with Job Centre Plus, or apply for benefits. However, they have often sought support from the Citizens' Advice Bureaux (CAB) or other voluntary agencies. Had the taskforce not brought different agencies together, these people would probably have remained invisible victims. Much work has been done through the taskforce to tackle the stress and anxiety felt by people of all ages. Many people turned not to their GPs, but to workplace and private counselling, some of which has been paid for by the recovery fund. Visits by the police to local schools immediately after the Buncefield incident highlighted confusion and distress among primary schoolchildren, and led to a counselling service being offered to five to 14-year-olds. Churches, working with the taskforce, played a significant role in visiting elderly and housebound people experiencing fear and trauma early on. The taskforce has also undertaken much community-development work. This has included local forums for residents and young people to raise concerns with the Buncefield Investigation Board, mural painting, a reminiscence DVD project with a youth group, and a project to replace the many trees destroyed by the blast. As time passed, the taskforce has met less frequently, moving to fortnightly and monthly meetings. This year, meetings have gradually diminished, although members continue to network. One of the biggest lessons we learned was that recovery work was not short term. Our work has constantly changed as new issues and concerns have emerged. The CAB and Dacorum Community Trust still see new clients – people who have managed until now, but can no longer cope with financial or emotional issues. Recovery work is now being mainstreamed into the work of specific agencies. And they will continue to work together to help those still affected. Jacquie Campbell is director of communities, customers and housing at Dacorum BC. For copies of the report, available as a paper copy or on disc, contact 01442 228241 or e-mail: communications@dacorum.gov.uk

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CLIMATE CHANGE

An explosion of community spirit

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