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- By Caroline Lowbridge & Heidi Tomlinson
- BBC News
Image source, Paul Pearson
Leonide Interiors was hit by flooding in Chesterfield on 20 October
Businesses in Chesterfield have said they do not know when they will be able to trade again after being flooded by Storm Babet.
The Derbyshire town was badly affected by flooding, with hundreds of people forced to evacuate their homes a week ago.
One trader said it would have been better if his business had burnt down.
Paul Pearson, who owns Leonide Interiors, said the effect on his business had been “disastrous”.
“I put my heart and soul into the place and it’s disappeared from under me,” he said.
“I never realised the drastic events of a flood and how long things take to dry out.
“I did say to someone the other day it probably would have been better it burning down, at least you can rebuild it quickly.”
Image source, Paul Pearson
This ornamental elephant was carried down the length of the showroom by the force of the water
Mr Pearson has been running his business, fitting kitchens and bathrooms, for 10 years.
He said the cost of the damage was so high he “can’t even put a value on it”.
More than a week since the flooding hit the town on 20 October, Mr Pearson said he still cannot begin to clean up his showroom because loss adjusters have not visited yet.
In the meantime he is losing trade.
“We can’t have appointments because it’s all about choosing things out, but we’ve got no products,” he said.
Image source, Paul Pearson
Mr Pearson said the cost of the damage was so high he “can’t even put a value on it”
Northern Tea Merchants, which had recently opened in Chatsworth Road, is among the businesses badly affected.
They can no longer trade as they do not have a working kitchen.
Jill Benson, who runs the cafe, said: “All of the wood is damaged. The kitchen appliances are damaged.
“We’ve lost fridges, we’ve lost a freezer, a dishwasher. Everything is flooded with water.
“You think you’ve got on top of it, the mud just comes back.”
Jill Benson has been trying to get her cafe up and running again
Property developer Diana Yates said a sale of a house had fallen through because of the flooding.
“We had sold a house to a local guy,” she said.
“He obviously has now pulled out of the sale and we’d just got it all finished.
“New kitchen, new bathroom, ready to go, and he’s pulled out because he had a drive down, and [the water] was gushing down.”
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