'Relief' as flood-hit homes set for demolition

People have spoken of mixed emotions after it emerged every home on a street where a woman drowned when water filled her home could be bought and demolished.

Maureen Gilbert died after her house in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, flooded in October 2023 when the nearby River Rother burst its banks during Storm Babet.

Lisa Thompson, who has lived on the street for 20 years, said she cried when she found out Chesterfield Borough Council would buy her out.

"You're just in limbo and we just wanted some relief from that," she said.

"We've been stuck in a situation where we couldn't move," added Thompson, who had to carry her baby to safety in a carrier bag during a flood in 2007.

"We've been through so many flood alerts. Obviously in 2023, the death of Maureen, that was devastating.

"We were out of the house for 14 months, we moved 10 times and you feel like you can't move forward with your life."

She described Tapton Terrace as a "very special place" with "lovely people".

Thompson added that it would be "very emotional" when the street is demolished, but said "there's no other way around it".

At an inquest into Gilbert's death, the coroner said all of the street's 26 houses were as much of a risk to life as they had been when it first flooded in 2007.

Coroner Matthew Kewley gave a narrative conclusion at Gilbert's inquest in September 2025, and said he was issuing a prevention of future deaths report which highlighted the ongoing risk to residents in Tapton Terrace.

Chesterfield Borough Council and the Environment Agency (EA) said in a joint statement on Friday that buying and demolishing the homes was the "only effective and viable long-term solution to keep residents safe".

The River Rother, which is next to Tapton Terrace, burst its banks at multiple points in Chesterfield as the UK was hit by Storm Babet, and about 400 properties across Chesterfield were flooded.

Gilbert's son Paul said that in the long term, he thought demolishing the houses was the right thing to do.

"I'd have liked to have seen it developed better," he said.

"I would have liked to see more work put into the river or even flood defences, but they've basically said that the cost-effective side of it is just unbelievable.

"So for the stress that I have, and all the people that live on here, I think it will be long term the right thing to do."

Paul described the situation as "a tough one" because he wanted something to be done, but said the thought of demolishing the houses was "gutting".

He said: "I was born down here, my mum was born down here.

"Where's everybody going to go with the community?

"It's hard to swallow for everybody at the moment."

He added that he would have had to fight to get his mother out of the property, as "she would not have moved out of her house".

The council and EA said alternatives to the purchasing and demolition of the houses "would not provide viable, long-term protection for Tapton Terrace properties, where the flood risk is already significant, as it is expected to increase because of climate change".

Residents have been contacted by authorities this week, with officials beginning a "process of tailored support" for each household, they added.

"Homeowners have been reassured that they will receive a fair market payment for their property, alongside compensation recognising disruption and loss," the council and EA said in a joint statement.

The organisations also confirmed those who rent their homes would be "supported and compensated for the loss of their home and the associated disruption".

No one is being asked to move immediately, they added.

Labour MP for Chesterfield, Toby Perkins, said the news would be "bittersweet" for Tapton Terrace residents, "who continue to live in fear of a repeat of the terrible floods in 2023".

"It has become clear, following the coroner's report, that the risk to life caused by the unique geography of Tapton Terrace was too great and that no workable solution would offer residents there the security they deserve," he said.

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