Derbyshire County Council

The leader of Derbyshire County Council has said an "initial £1m" will be set aside to help the county deal with coronavirus.

Councillor Barry Lewis said: "It’s clear the impacts on local businesses and residents will be significant. We stand ready to help."

He said further details about the funding will be released later today.

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Whilst many across the country are spending the evening celebrating - or commiserating - with like-minded voters, this couple is bridging the divide over a glass of (British) wine.

Barry Lewis, Conservative leader of Derbyshire County Council, voted to leave the EU. His wife of 20 years Katharine voted to remain.

He admitted they had disagreed over it from time to time but were both "relieved" to be able to "move forward".

Barry LewisCopyright: Barry Lewis

He told the BBC: "We're both quietly toasting the occasion.

"We agree that whatever our differing views we need to get on with living and embrace the future. 23:00 marks something of a symbolic transition that needs quietly and respectfully noting."

The Toddbrook Dam crisis in Whaley Bridge has cost Derbyshire County Council £700,000.

The authority’s finance chief says it must get a hold of its finances to ensure its ability to combat similar emergencies does not decrease.

It had to fund its response to the potential disaster from its reserves.

Peter Handford, the council’s director of finance, had originally estimated the authority would have to draw £2m from its reserves to pay for its Toddbrook Dam response – listed in its five-year plan to be agreed next week.

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This, it is thought, has now been reduced to £700,000 due to the estimate being forecast “before we knew that the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was paying for the helicopter,” the council says.

The helicopter, a Chinook from RAF Odiham, was commissioned for a combined 72 hours over several days to drop more than 600 tonnes of aggregate on the damaged Toddbrook Dam to prevent it from breaching.

The council’s reduced estimate suggests the cost of the Chinook could be £1.3 million – a cost which has not been confirmed by Defra, the Ministry of Defence or Derbyshire Police.

The banks funding Sinfin's troubled waste treatment plant have been put on notice that Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council will pull out of the project.

The authorities say if the four lenders don't take action to help get the site up-and-running, they'll terminate their contract with private company RRS, which is building the facility.

The councils have said they're committed to getting the plant working and say it still offers the best value for money.

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Councillor Simon Spencer, a cabinet member at Derbyshire County Council, said: "The time has come to formally give notice to them that they should step in."

It's not clear how long the banks have to take action.

Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council have said they're "considering all options" when it comes to Sinfin's troubled waste treatment plant.

The authorities met this afternoon to decide the way forward - and say they're ramping up the pressure on company RRS to get the delayed facility - which has been opposed by a number of local residents - up-and-running.

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The councils say they're also speaking to the firm's banks, who lent them the money to build the plant.

They say they could, as a last resort, terminate the contract.

RRS says it's continuing to work to bring the waste plant into full service.

Figures compiled by The Taxpayers' Alliance show that Derbyshire County Council spent more on award ceremonies than any other authority.

The council spent £218,000 on the ceremonies over the last three years, 12 times the national average and more than every authority in Wales combined.

A council spokeswoman said the figures related to staff long service awards, with the council now spending "less than half what has been reported".

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The Conservative leader of Derbyshire County Council has said there is no need for people to start stockpiling food in preparation for a no-deal Brexit.

Local firms Rolls-Royce and Bombardier have revealed they are stockpiling parts to ensure production lines continue running if the UK leaves the EU with no formal agreement in place.

But Barry Lewis said people in the county should not rush out to fill their pantries ahead of 29 March.

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He told BBC Radio Derby: "I think it is, in the main, Project Fear. There may be the odd item that is slightly under pressure but I can't imagine there is any need to go and stockpile under any circumstance that I can see so far from the Brexit scenarios that may play out."

Last month Prof Tim Benton, an expert in food systems from the University of Leeds, said he did not foresee the UK running out of food but believed there could be "situations where we cannot reliably get what we expect to see on the shelves on a daily basis".

He said the most likely disruption would be caused by panic buying and urged people not to "overreact".