As winter approaches and the one-year anniversary of the devastating floods draws closer, concerns are growing among Monmouth's business owners about the prospect of further disruption. Nearly a year after floodwater swept through the town, many have worked tirelessly to rebuild, but the threat of another flood remains a constant worry.
Storm Claudia's impact
On Friday, November 14, 2025, five inches of rain fell in Monmouth in just five hours, overwhelming flood defences and sending water surging through streets and buildings. The scale of Storm Claudia was unlike anything many residents had experienced in decades, leaving homes sodden, businesses waterlogged, and roads like rivers.
In the weeks that followed, residents and business owners set about putting the town back together. With Christmas approaching, boxes were carried out of flooded shops, muddy floors scrubbed clean, and waterlogged stock hauled onto pavements. Volunteers proved crucial in the recovery effort.
Businesses reopen
Nearly a year on, more and more shops have reopened their doors. The Handyman, which was little more than a shell five months ago, has finally thrown open its doors, full of stock with customers queuing at the tills. A few doors down, Car Care is open too, with music playing over the radio as customers browse shelves laden with everything from cleaning equipment to cans of paint.
Opposite, in Marches Delicatessen, the coffee shop is finally back for business. People flood the café area, chatting over cups of steaming coffee. Even their garden has visitors, with people enjoying the crisp autumn day.
Yet behind the reopened shopfronts are months of repairs, insurance delays, and lost trading time. Some businesses are still working to recover, with the occasional empty unit spotted here and there. In one doorway a plastic sign reads: "Please support our Cinderford and Newent branches while we work on the flood damage."
Insurance delays and community support
Tom Lewis, owner of Marches Deli, counts his business as one of the "lucky" ones, crediting much of its recovery to the support of the local community. "It has been a process but we have got there bit by bit," he says. "It comes down to a lot of support from people, a lot of support from customers who made efforts to come back in."
Marches Deli's reopening came in stages. While the deli welcomed customers back in December, the coffee shop did not reopen until March. "Our insurance claim wasn't sorted until about six months after the event, which was a bit frustrating. But compared to other places we were quite lucky. A lot of places still haven't reopened. Some are still trying to get reopened, which has been really sad to see," Tom explains.
Having run the business for 10 years, Tom describes this year as one of the most difficult yet. "I don't think anyone in living memory can remember a flood like this, as far as I know," he adds. "It's certainly been a good 40-odd years. I've not experienced anything like it."
Bev Fletcher's story
Just a few storefronts away is Monmouth Fabrics and Soft Furnishings, run by Bev Fletcher. The damage was so extensive that the shop remained closed until May this year – six months after the floods.
"There was no warning," Bev recalls. "Nothing from the emergency services, nothing from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), nobody. The way I found out was through my daughter, who was living in Australia at the time. She sent a video that was circulating on Facebook to our WhatsApp chat. It was just all this water flooding our street."
Bev and her family were unable to get into the shop until the Monday, almost three days after the storm hit. "We got in here and cleared everything away. The water was up to around knee height." Amid the destruction, the community's response became a vital source of support. "It was absolutely incredible. My daughter's friends just turned up to help. I'd fallen the week before and had a broken leg and an ankle so I was on crutches and there was nothing I could really do."
Now, with the shop back open and customers steadily returning, the initial devastation has given way to disappointment. "I am disappointed by the lack of support from our council. Disappointed to see so many empty buildings," Bev says. "When it first happened there were all these meetings going on about all the help they could offer. But once we got to a certain point there was nothing."
Although Monmouth Fabrics and Soft Furnishings is now fully operational again, the prospect of another flood hangs over the business. "It's coming up now to the season, and you're thinking: 'My God, I've been open six months now. What's going to happen?' If I flood again I won't be able to open."
Bev's insurance covered her general stock, but her experience with the insurance company has left her facing an uncertain future. "When it came to my business interruption claim the insurance company were like: 'You're not getting that, you're not getting that.' I had to reopen using my own money. Now, my policy has gone through the roof and my excess has been raised to £25,000. You just can't sustain that. If we flood again I won't be able to reopen."
The financial risk has forced Bev to rethink how she runs the business. "We decided that because we've been told it's going to happen again we don't hold any stock of fabric. Because if we do get flooded again then I'll close. I won't be able to claim on my insurance."
Protecting the premises is not straightforward either. The shop's cellar makes conventional flood defences difficult to install, while the water table presents a persistent problem. "I can't put any flood defences on the door because I've got a cellar. Even in normal weather, if the river rises, the water level rises and my cellar floods because it's on a water table."
With few practical options available, Bev has registered for NRW flood alerts on her phone. "With the wetter weather coming I am very, very scared. Any bit of rain now, when it starts coming down, I think: 'Is this going to come to anything?'"
Council response
In light of Bev's concerns, a spokesman for Monmouthshire County Council stated they were continuing to work closely with partners to implement recommendations made by a recent report, which identified ways to help communities affected by flooding. They added: "Monmouthshire County Council continues to work to ensure the county is as prepared as possible for winter and periods of adverse weather. This includes prioritising work to clear drains and culverts across Monmouthshire."
"We have also recently published the section 19 report into Storm Claudia, which examines the causes and impacts of the severe flooding and identifies recommendations to improve flood resilience, strengthen community preparedness, and increase understanding of flood risk. We will continue working closely with partners and communities to take these recommendations forward."
Robin Hood pub's struggle
Just at the bottom of Monnow Street is the Robin Hood pub, owned by husband and wife Mark and Clair Beard. The pub remained closed for five months as the couple faced the daunting task of essentially starting again from scratch.
"We had to rip everything out," Clair explained at the time. "We were not covered on insurance for this, which isn't great, and neither are our own wages or our staff's wages. That's taken a huge hit because our staff are precious to us."
Getting the pub back on its feet proved to be a mammoth undertaking. "It was hard work because obviously we had to put everything back," Clair says. "We did have to do some serious work in rebuilding the bits that they didn't do." Even after reopening, the financial strain continued, with the couple still waiting for insurance payments and having to put more of their own money into the business.
Today the pub is packed with customers despite it being just 2pm on a Wednesday. But with the threat of further flooding hanging over the town, the relief of having reopened is tempered by the fear of having to endure it all over again. "It took us five months to get back in and now there's predictions of a second flood. What can I say? You have to brace yourself and be prepared, though there's not a lot you can prepare for really with that amount of water," Clair says.
The prospect is particularly troubling given that many residents and business owners are still struggling to recover from the previous flood. "There's a lot of people still not back in their houses, there's a lot of people still not back in their businesses or they've had to give up because of the whole circumstances," Clair says. "Honestly I am absolutely petrified because I know it's not just going to be me that's affected if it hits again. I fear for those who haven't moved back into their businesses because they're only just rebuilding from the last one."
Car Care and Shiraz
Another business owner to have recently returned to the high street is Gareth Modget, who took over Car Care from his father. The shop was badly affected by the flooding, with four feet of water surging through its doors. "It took eight months before we were back open," Gareth says. "We don't own the property so it was a matter of our insurance and then the landlord's insurance. But beyond that the whole shop needed to be redone."
The shop officially reopened in July, bringing an end to eight months of uncertainty and disruption. But the prospect of another flood means the uncertainty has not gone away. "We keep hearing news of this El Niño at the Pacific, and how it's going to bring really bad weather. It gets us thinking: 'Oh gosh, what's going to happen this time?'" Gareth has already begun making changes to reduce the risk of similar damage, including new racking in the stockroom and discussing additional flood-prevention measures with the landlord.
The final stop of the day is Shiraz, a trinket shop run by Lisa Meek, daughter of the shop's owner. The business has been back open for just over a month. "It's nice to be back because we did feel a bit lost without it," she says. "With it being a family business, we put our heart and souls into it, and looking at what the flood did, how it pretty much destroyed everything – from the stock to the slat walls – it was hard to process."
Housed in a listed building, Shiraz faced additional challenges during the recovery. The age of the property meant it took time to dry out, while the need to preserve its character added another layer of complexity. Throughout the process, Lisa and her mum were lifted by the support of volunteers and fellow business owners. "We had so many offers to help clean up. And Jenny [Chuter] from The Boathouse, who was up and running not long after, sold our Christmas earrings for us – just to give us a little boost and let people know that we're not going anywhere, we are coming back."
For Lisa, one of the most unsettling aspects was how unexpected the flooding proved to be. "Usually it is the Wye that floods but the Monnow River – no-one was expecting that. It really caught us off guard." She is also aware of how differently events could have unfolded had the flood struck during the day. "I am just grateful it happened during the night, especially when I think about how many cars are parked here throughout the day, and the instinct when something happens is to just get in your car and leave – there could have been a serious loss of life."
As Shiraz begins to find its feet again, the possibility of further flooding remains an uneasy presence. "I think we'll always worry about it now but we've adapted. All our main stock is now up off the ground, both on the shop floor and in the stockroom. We will be on tenterhooks for a few more storms but you can't just give up. You've got to keep a positive outlook and keep going."
