Jennings gets flood protection works

By Matt Eley Matt

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Brewery Flood

Major works are taking place to safeguard a brewery from further flood damage a year after it was forced to close for four months. As part of a near...

Major works are taking place to safeguard a brewery from further flood damage a year after it was forced to close for four months.

As part of a near £2m investment from owner's Marston's, Jennings brewery in Cockermouth, is undergoing improvements that make the closure due to flooding four times less likely.

In November last year the brewery along with dozens of pubs in the Lake District were devastated by flooding when severe weather led to the banks of both the Cocker and Derwent bursting.

Nearly a year on and works have begun to fortify the brewery's foundations and to install a steel barrier which provides more protection.

Brewery manager Gaynor Green said: "When the floods happened last year it was devastating for our community.

"The constant washing of the river over more than 100 years has undermined the brewery's foundations.

"In order to make sure the brewery is fit to face the future, we're investing heavily in this work which will not only restore the foundations back to full health, it will also prevent further erosion and minimise the potential for future flooding."

The six-week long programme of work involves concrete being pumped directly into the brewery's foundations. Engineers will then drive steel piles into the river bed by the brewery to stop further erosion.

Meanwhile pubs in the area that were closed due to flood damage have since reopened. This included the hardest hit Jennings pubs the Bush Inn and Hunters.

Other pubs, including the Belle Vue in Padcastle, were not directly hit but had to close because the flooding meant customers could not get to them.

Licensee Helen Glover said: "The town is still in disarray but it is good to see all the pubs open and getting stronger again."

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