MONMOUTHSHIRE is among five Welsh councils which have received almost £400,000 from the Welsh Government as a contribution towards assisting with costs incurred by the heavy snow in March’s Beast from the East and Storm Emma.

The Welsh Government announced in April it would support local authorities across the country with a funding package of £2.5million

From the allocation, Caerphilly received the highest share – £123,048, followed by Newport – £86,438, Monmouthshire – £76,746, Torfaen – £49,674 and Blaenau Gwent – £46,088.

However, the additional cost of the snow to the councils’ winter service teams combined is more than £2million – taking in the wintry weather in December and March.

A spokesman for Monmouthshire County Council said that more than £400,000 was incurred in additional costs in December and March.

He said: “Monmouthshire is committed to ensuring that people can return to their normal routine as safely, quickly and effectively as possible after any severe weather event.

“The council was supported by a large team of agricultural contractors and volunteers while dealing with this winter’s three serious snow events.

“Monmouthshire incurred additional costs in excess of £400,000, which was equal to our total annual average spend for our winter service.

“This invariably put a big strain on the authority’s finances and any money received from Welsh Government is welcomed.”

A Blaenau Gwent spokesman added: “The council has received a welcome contribution of £46,088 from Welsh Government to assist with the significant additional costs incurred as a result of the heavy snow falls in March and the resulting disruption this caused.

“The additional cost incurred was around £353,000 and this related to road clearance and safeguarding/supporting vulnerable members of our communities during the severe weather.”

Torfaen council spent £494,000 on winter maintenance – £244,000 more than a normal winter, spending £205,000 on salt alone – across December and March.

Cllr Fiona Cross, the executive member for the environment, said: “This is a welcome contribution from Welsh Government towards the considerable costs we incurred during the snow and provides us with some additional resilience as we begin the new financial year.”

A spokeswoman from the Welsh Government said the amount for each local authority was calculated using a road maintenance formula.

She said: “Allocations have been made using the formula for road maintenance to determine revenue support grant funding for each local authority.”