HOMEOWNERS and businesses in Eden who were forced to vacate their properties in January's floods may be given exemption from council tax and business rate payments while repair work is carried out.

Eden District Council has announced that properties vacated due to flood damage may qualify for exemptions in a bid to soften the blow of the floods, which washed out more than 30 properties in Appleby during the late evening of Friday, January 7 and early hours of the following day.

Homes in need of major structural repairs could be exempt from council tax for a year, homes vacated because of less serious damage for a month, while businesses forced to leave their premises because of flooding could be exempt from business rates for three months.

Buildings partially vacated may also qualify for a partial reduction in payments.

"We take a very sympathetic view in cases of flood damaged properties and usually a six-month exemption from council tax is enough time for repairs to be completed," said a district council spokesman.

"General practice is for such an exemption to be given once a person informs us they are vacating a property due to flooding and the council can review the situation if repairs are likely to take longer than six months."

Councillor Alan Morgan, district councillor for Appleby, welcomed the gesture.

"Life for a lot of people in Appleby is still far from normal because of the severe disruption caused by the floods," he told the Messenger.

"This gesture will go some way to alleviating the problems that are still being experienced here."

The Messenger reported last month how some residents were forced to flee their homes because of the floods, described as the worst to hit the area since the disastrous floods of 1974.

Some town businesses have also been left with repair bills of around £6,000 after eight inches of rain fell during 36 hours, causing the River Eden to burst its banks.

Eden was also battered by winds of up to 100mph, bringing down trees and electricity pylons and cutting off homes during the weekend.