Severe weather threat renews town's flood concerns

A heritage building which partially collapsed into a river three years ago is at greater risk of further giving way due to severe weather forecast as part of the El Niño climate pattern, it has been warned.

Part of the Old Courthouse in Cockermouth, Cumbria, fell into the River Cocker in October 2023, sparking fears about its impact on flood defences in a town which saw major flooding in 2009 and 2015.

The Environment Agency (EA) confirmed it had put temporary defences in place but Cumberland Council said it was down to the owner to stabilise the building.

The private landlord said the EA and the council had failed to act on "known structural and flood risk issues" and rejected responsibility.

Royal Meteorological Society chief executive Liz Bentley said the "super El Niño" climate pattern developing over the Pacific Ocean increased the chances of wetter, stormier weather in autumn and early winter.

The likelihood of storms like Storm Desmond also increased and the situation was made worse when there were multiple storms in quick succession, she said.

EA regional flood risk manager Richard Knight said the agency was concerned about the additional risk the extreme weather system posed for the Old Courthouse.

It had addressed concerns by removing debris from the river and installing temporary defences, he said.

Vivien Austin, who owns a business near the Old Courthouse which had to be closed for 18 months following previous floods in 2009, said she was worried about further flooding during the winter.

"We're now concerned that when it gets to November and the rivers get a lot fuller that more of the building is going to collapse and the river will be full of debris that can't be washed away," she said.

Another nearby shop owner, Jan Mansergh, said it was disappointing more work was not done during the summer when water levels were low.

"Nothing has ever been done with the building to secure it and make sure that it doesn't come down when the rivers are high again," she said.

"I haven't noticed any work going on in the last couple of years, not at all.

"You get odd people round doing surveys with drones and things like that, but there's no physical work actually being done at the property as far as I can see."

The Grade II listed building has been empty since 2021 and was bought at auction in 2022 by the Halal Group with the aim of turning it into flats.

In a statement the company's director, Samiul Ahmed, said the EA and the council had "failed to act on known structural and flood risk issues at the Old Courthouse since 2021 and have continuously attempted to pass responsibility for that failure onto Halal Group".

"We do not accept that position," he said.

"Any suggestion that the current state of the building is due to inaction on our part is rejected."

A council spokesperson said the owner was responsible for securing and stabilising the structure and ensuring that debris did not obstruct the river channel.

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