A Kendal cafe, recently taken over by new owners, will be closed for several weeks due to ongoing flood defence work in the town.
Waterside Cafe was recently taken over by mother and son Sol Gogli and Tomas Sanchez.
Thanks to work to create foundations of new glass panel flood defences at Waterside, the riverside footpath will continue to remain closed for the duration.
And the Environment Agency said Waterside Café will close for several weeks to protect public safety in that area.
The agency said it was working with the new owners and providing signs to update customers.
It added: “Throughout the purchasing process, the Environment Agency has been in contact with the new owners and are keeping them updated about the construction programme at Waterside and impacts to their business.
“It was agreed that the café would close from May 19, when the greatest impact from the work will take place.
“This is due to the close proximity of substantial plant and machinery and the potential impacts that will have on the café and their customers.
“A compensation package is being provided to ensure they are remunerated for the closure.”
Businesses in Kendal, directly impacted by the scheme are receiving compensation where they have shown loss of earnings, the agency said and reminded businesses that if they suffer a demonstrable financial loss as a direct consequence of the scheme, they are able to submit a claim for compensation.
A business resilience guide is available online, via the Kendal Flood Hub, with specific commercial information about how to be resilient, prepare for flooding and apply for compensation where there is a direct loss of earnings due to the construction of the flood defences which can be demonstrated through business accounts.
When completed, the flood risk management scheme will better protect over 1,920 homes and local businesses in the town, which employ in excess of 6,100 people.
The flood protection will save £1.2bn million from future flood damage and represents a £277 million benefit to the local economy.
Environment Agency project manager, Alex Cowin said: “We have worked closely with the owners of Waterside Café to ensure they are suitably informed about the impact of this essential work on their new business venture.
“We are working closely with them, to minimise the impact on their new venture, and are grateful to them for their understanding.
“Kendal Flood Scheme is a major engineering project involving extensive construction work that requires road and footpath closures at times to ensure public safety.
“We are doing everything possible to keep disruption to a minimum and are offering compensation where businesses can demonstrate their loss of earnings when directly impacted by our work.”
