Fit-out specialist will design and re-fit flood-damaged branch of Barclays bank

Fit-out specialist, Styles & Wood, has been drafted in to get Cockermouth High Street up and running after the Cumbrian floods.

Barclays bank is teaming up with the firm’s StorePlanning and StoreFit divisions so that the branch can open as soon as possible.

Styles & Wood, which has worked alongside the high street bank since 1999, will design and re-fit the flood-damaged branch – in addition to implementing its current framework agreement, which runs until the end of 2010.

Andy Shaw, director for construction services at Styles & Wood, said: “It’s impossible to fully appreciate the devastation caused by the floods on homes and businesses across the region.

“We’re fully committed to responding quickly and efficiently to the flood damage. Our team is already on site and we’re now working closely with Barclays and other stakeholders to ensure that we help the town return to normal as soon as possible.”

Police have warned that it could take years for the community to return to normal, and with over 1,000 homes affected, insurers are braced for claims totalling more than £100 million from the worst-hit areas in Cumbria and the south of Scotland.