Following the unveiling of potential options for Manx Utilities’ £10m plans for improved flood defences in Laxey.

We spoke to residents to see how they are still being affected by last year’s floods.

Maxine Martin lives on Glen road - one of the areas most badly affected by the floods.

Asked whether she thought the government had been doing enough to help Laxey, Miss Martin said: ’It’s an ongoing battle to get a conclusion, which the government promised but we never got.

’We feel like we’ve been forgotten about.

’They gave us a government liaison officer who we never saw, until we chased him up.

’And he wasn’t very good, he just spoke at us.

’We went to see Howard Quayle and he said he knew what it was like because he had a holiday home flooded.’

The new MU plans are intended to implement the recommendations of the government-commissioned independent ARUP report into last year’s major flooding incident, but Miss Martin said: ’The ARUP report was not very independent.

’It leant on a previously used flood report, by an organisation which the government had worked closely with on previous occasions.’

As to whether the new plans had reassured residents, she said: ’The new plans still haven’t put residents at ease, there’s an old lady up the road who is still too traumatised to leave the house when it rains.’

Miss Martin and her family had been badly impacted by last October’s floods, describing the damage to the house as: ’Devastating, it took everything.

’The entire ground floor was practically cleared out, from front door to back door.

’Everything was gone, from the walls to our children’s toys.

Along with many other residents, the floods also affected their ability to access affordable insurance, Miss Martin said: ’We lost our no-claims bonus on our cars.

’Our home insurance premiums have gone from £300 to £800, and our excess from £150 to £5,000.

’Our insurance company quoted £3,000 to get reinsured and that’s without flood insurance.

’This is all because we’re classed as being in a flood zone, which we never were until that hole in the [Glen Road river] wall.’

Charlotte Morgan-Jones also lives on Glen Road.

Her family had only just been able to move back into their house by the August bank holiday.

She said it was difficult to be out of her home for that long with a three-month-old baby and a three-year old, especially during Christmas time.

On the morning of last October’s flood her son had been playing downstairs in the living room as it filled with two to three inches of water.

She added: ’Very quickly after the wall broke the water level rose to the tops of the radiators.’

’The sudden surge from the river wall collapse broke open the front door.

’I would like to say a massive thanks to the emergency services and the civil defence.

’As our home was without hot water or electricity, we were unable to feed our young children - but they got a camping stove for us.

’We can’t go through the distress of last year again, especially with young children.

’We shouldn’t have to worry every time it rains.

’If the works are to be carried out, we want to know that they are fully secure and thought out, unlike the previous ones.’

Asked about the new plans, she said: ’It’s nice that they are involving residents in these plans like those to replace the flood wall, but there is no timescale given for when these will be carried out.

’What will be done to ensure we are safe from flooding whilst those works are being done?

’Will they be carried out over summer, when the risk of flooding is less?

’We would like to hope that they’d be securing the whole area, but not at a time of year where they end up with holes in the [Glen Road river] wall and diggers in the water like last time.

’We would just like some more information.’

Asked if she felt the government had been doing enough, she said: ’I feel like within the last number of months they have been doing a lot more.

’But there is still a lack of communication.

’For example when they sent out letters to residents, with us being out of our damaged house we were not able to physically receive them.’