James Walker & Co is a large, established Cumbrian manufacturing firm is benefitting from a £2.6m investment from Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership to protect its premises from flooding. For the last 50 years, the Cockermouth based firm has been one of the country’s largest employers and is using the investment to safeguard its site and secure the jobs of its existing workforce of over 400 employees. It is part of a major Growth Deal programme of investment which has been ongoing since 2015 to support Cumbria’s economy and to help businesses grow.
The new flood protection measures are designed to offer protection from a 1 in 1000 flood event. The work will include the construction of a flood wall around the firms production buildings, it will be constructed with sheet piling to prevent ground flow, along with pumps and automated floodgates.
The £2.6million investment from the Local Growth Fund will protect ad safeguard hundreds of jobs and encourage continual investment in Cumbria’s economy. By 2021, the government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund via the LEP network.
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