The UK Community Foundations Winter Flood Recovery Appeal has raised over £14.6m for areas of Northern England and Scotland affected by the winter floods in 2015/16.

In a statement released today, UKCF confirmed that it had reached the £14.6m milestone following confirmation from the government that it would match the funding pound for pound.

This came after the Department for Communities and Local Government pledged an £8.4m boost to appeals across the region in late March.

The UKCF, an umbrella organisation representing 48 UK community foundations, launched the appeal on 30 December to raise money for the areas affected. The grants funded immediate emergency costs for “shelter, food and clothing” and are now focussing on “supporting people returning to their homes and assisting in repairing local businesses”.

Fabian French, chief executive of UKCF said: “It is remarkable how much money has been raised in a short period of time to help people in very real need. The Winter Flood Recovery Campaign shows how strongly individuals and businesses feel about supporting their own communities.  

“In addition, UKCF has been given large donations by Comic Relief, Walmart and Howdens. This generosity has enabled the community foundation network to make grants to thousands of people throughout the UK.”

In January, the amount raised by community foundations and charities across the north of England had reached over £8m.