Flood resilience investment leads to expansion for Cumbrian firm

An established Cumbrian manufacturing firm is benefiting from a £2.6m investment from Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership to protect its premises from flooding.

Cockermouth-based James Walker & Co, one of the county’s largest employers over the past 50 years, is using the investment to safeguard its site and secure the jobs of its existing workforce of more than 400 employees.

The work will allow the company to press ahead with a capital investment of £9.8m to expand its engineering, manufacturing and testing facilities and create 30 additional jobs over the coming years.

Storm Desmond caused flooding to a depth of more than a metre at the Cockermouth site in 2015 – a repeat of the flood event seen in 2009.

The new flood protection measures are designed to offer protection from a ‘1 in 1000’ flood event and consist of a flood wall around the firm’s production buildings, constructed with sheet piling to prevent ground flow, supplemented with associated ancillary equipment such as pumps and automated floodgates.

All work involved in the building of the defences and installation of ancillary equipment has been carried out by Story Contracting, in line with James Walker’s policy of supporting the local Cumbrian supply chain wherever possible.

Cumbria LEP chief executive, Jo Lappin, said: “James Walker & Co is a dynamic global manufacturer which supplies a vast range of products and services to all sorts of industry sectors.

“This is a key investment in flood alleviation measures, which are delivering strategic flood defence improvements to support our economic growth in the county and protect our key businesses such as James Walker, helping ensure future resilience and sustainability.

“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 our businesses to grow.”

Jake Berry, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, said: “This Government is committed to boosting economic growth across the whole of the Northern Powerhouse and building an economy which is fit for the future.

“This £2.6m investment from the Local Growth Fund will not only protect this important industrial site from flooding but also safeguard hundreds of jobs and drive further investment in the economy of Cumbria.”

James Walker & Co works at the forefront of sealing product development and materials science to provide a vast range of high performance fluid sealing products and associated knowledge-based services.

The company’s activities cover research and development of new materials, product application engineering and the manufacture of products to ensure the safe, clean and efficient operation of critical plant and machinery in virtually every industrial sector.

Mark Brook, manufacturing director from James Walker, explained: “Cumbria LEP’s investment in our site infrastructure will help future-proof the company against the disruption caused by storm and flood damage, and helps secure the jobs for whole families and generations of employees in the business.

“This Local Growth Funding allows us to focus on growing the business and maintain our position as a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance fluid sealing products and systems.”

By 2021 the Government will have invested more than £12bn through the Local Growth Fund via the LEP network.

LEPs are investing in a wide range of projects, including transport, skills, business support, broadband and innovation.