Richard Warren will be among rescue representatives receiving the cheque
Mountain rescue teams in the Lake District will receive a cash boost to help them train for future flood rescues.
The 12 teams in the area worked solidly during Cumbria’s worst recorded floods last November in rescuing residents and visitors to the area as many towns and villages were inundated.
The volunteer teams suffered £42,000-worth of loss and damage to their gear during while carrying out duties during the floods, a sum that was subsequently refunded by Cumbria Police Authority and Allerdale Borough Council.
But the rescuers saw a need to be prepared should there be a repeat of the torrential rain that battered the county and saw the biggest ever recorded rainfall levels and the teams have put in place a plan to bring their equipment and training up to standard.
Richard Warren, chairman of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, the umbrella body for the dozen volunteer teams in the area, explained: “£140,000 of investment was needed to bring the teams up to a position where sufficient team members were trained in swiftwater and floodwater rescue along with sufficient rescue equipment and improved communication to deal with similar events across the county.
“Cumbria Community Foundation responded magnificently to a grant request and agreed to contribute £35,500 towards the overall requirement to cover the training element. The Trustees approved the award at their meeting in September and the cheque will be presented to the teams this Friday.”
Representatives from Patterdale, Kirkby Stephen and Penrith Mountain Rescue Teams will join Mr Warren, a member of the Wasdale team, at a handover at the Penrith team’s headquarters in the town.
Some of the busiest mountain rescue teams in England are members of the LDSMRA, with the cost of running the volunteer-staffed organisations varying from £30,000 to £75,000 annually. No Government cash goes to the teams in England.
Mountain rescue teams throughout the UK have led a protracted campaign for VAT and fuel-duty relief without success and teams will face paying more VAT to the Government when the rate is increased in January.
Lobbying of the last Labour Government’s Treasury team by a trio of delegates came to nothing, though in opposition, Labour shadow chief secretary Liam Byrne unsuccessfully tabled Finance Bill amendments to grant an exemption from the tax rise and an examination of the whole issue.
Westmorland and Lonsdale Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, who is standing for his party’s presidency, has also campaigned for VAT relief for mountain rescuers. A LibDem manifesto pledge to refund VAT was removed from the Government’s coalition agreement.
The Cumbria Community Foundation has been helping voluntary and community groups since its establishment in 1999 and has so far helped 3,500 groups
