HomeBase to sue for flood damage | Coffs Coast News | Local News in Coffs Coast

Cars were washed off roads during flooding at Coffs Harbour on Friday night.

Leigh Jensen

QUESTIONS have been asked about the state of Coffs Harbour’s stormwater drains, in the wake of flooding which has crippled seven businesses at the HomeBase retail centre.

The Bachrach Group, which owns and operates the retail centre, yesterday revealed it will be seeking damages from Coffs Harbour Council, claiming a blocked stormwater drain caused the flooding.

The drain in question, located behind WOW Sight and Sound, was clogged with vegetation and flood debris, supporting the business owners' claims that it caused their stores to be flooded.

One of the flood-affected business owners, Andrew MacLeod, from One Stop Pine and Beds R Us, valued his stock losses at $600,000.

As the business owners continued to mop up yesterday, the Bachrach Group began planning its course of action.

The company’s general manager Steve Gooley claimed the council was informed of the problem following the March 31 flood and nothing had been done to fix it.

“We will be engaging an engineering and flood assessment report into the drain, which will be conducted this week and we will be handing a copy to our solicitors with a view of seeking compensation from Coffs Harbour Council,” Mr Gooley said.

The council said it was investigating the ownership of the stormwater drain, but would today clear the blocked drain as part of its stormwater maintenance.

The flooding is said to have devastated the affected businesses leading into the peak Christmas period.

Andrew MacLeod yesterday sat in an empty showroom, as fans and dehumidifiers were used to save the store’s carpet.

“We have hired two 20-foot shipping containers and packed all of the water damaged stock from the Beds R Us warehouse into them,” Mr MacLeod said.

“On top of that I’ve hired a 400-metre warehouse and moved almost all of the stock from One Stop Pine in there.

“My insurance policies are likely to go up from now on – if I can’t get insurance I can’t trade, it’s as simple as that.

“The drain was completely blocked. It was the main cause of this flooding and it is totally inadequate to carry the rain we received.

“It just isn’t suitable or effective in doing what it was put there to do,” he said.

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