Deluged pub reopens after £500k flood defence work
BBCA pub has reopened nearly three years after it was forced to close due to severe flooding.
The Hurt Arms in Ambergate near Matlock was deluged after Storm Babet hit in October 2023 - the third time the pub had flooded in as many years - but £500,000 has since been spent on repairs and flood prevention measures.
Changes include filling the underground cellars and kitchen with concrete and flood-proofing the property up to 4ft (1.2m).
Luke Richards, operations director at Moore Hotel Collective which owns the pub, said: "Following the work, instead of previously taking a few months to recover and repair, it will now only take a matter of days [if it floods again]."
Storm Babet led to an underground kitchen, cellars, offices and all of the pub's storage areas being fully submerged, with water entering the ground level of the function suites.
About 1,600 properties in the surrounding area were also flooded causing millions of pounds of damage to homes and businesses.
The lengthy closure and subsequent work "had to happen" as people were losing confidence in events such as weddings taking place due to flood fears, Richards said.
He added the flood defence work had cost about £500,000 but he believed it was a "worthwhile investment".
"When Storm Babet hit, the damage again was so significant we were no longer insured for flooding," he said.
"We're confident for the pub if flooding happens again - we've had the best part of two and a half years to think about how we stop water getting inside.
"It would take something significant to get any water to penetrate the building now."
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