Work on Kendal's flood defences to take two years

Kendal's new bridge opened in 2022 after the old one was damaged in Storm Desmond in 2015

Work to strengthen a town's flood defences will take two years to complete, an agency has said.

Kendal was particularly badly hit when Storm Desmond battered the UK in 2015.

The Environment Agency (EA) said work would being in the summer and involve building new flood walls and a pumping station at Gooseholme.

It added that the station would discharge water from Stock Beck into the River Kent to reduce flood risk from the drainage system.

Landscaping of Gooseholme Park will also be carried out with work due to be completed in 2025.

An EA representative said the flood defences would be built "using natural stone" and be located around the boundary of Gooseholme Park "with a flood gate to maintain public access to the riverside".

They added that the pumping station would use of "fish-friendly pumps", which were "designed to protect fish as they move within the watercourse".

In October 2022, a new £2m bridge was put in place over the River Kent at Gooseholme after the old one was wrecked in Storm Desmond.

It was one of 500 bridges which were repaired or replaced in Cumbria after the storm.