Government grant helps to pay for Supa Skips emergency works

Lancaster City Council has successfully recouped £764,916 of the money it paid out to deal with the fire at the former Supa Skips site in Lancaster.

The money has been provided in an exceptional grant from the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and will be used to meet costs incurred by the council to demolish buildings and remove waste as part of the firefighting efforts.

The grant is approximately half of the total spent by the council in dealing with the emergency since the fire started in December.

Mark Davies, chief executive of Lancaster City Council, said: “The city council recognised at an early stage that although it had no statutory duty to do so, it needed to step up and support the fire service in ensuring the emergency was dealt with quickly and effectively.

“This meant using some of the council’s reserves to pay for the demolition of some of the buildings that were hampering the firefighting efforts, along with removal of much of the waste that was providing fuel for the fire.

“The clear message from residents was that for their own health and wellbeing the immediate danger from the fire and the smoke it produced needed to be removed, but that they also did not expect the council to pick up the bill alone.

“Through the concerted efforts of the city council, county council, partner agencies  and our MPs , we have been able to recoup around half of the overall costs through a one-off grant from the Government.”

 

Last updated: 25 April 2024