An NCASS member is asking for support from fellow businesses after severe flooding devastated their business recently, destroying their livelihood and all the equipment in which they operate with.
Sarah Reilly of Barrow Field Dog Park & The Dog House Café contacted us after 12 hours of heavy rain on New Year’s Eve led to water levels on an adjacent brook rising quickly and spilling over onto the farm, leaving the café, vehicles, horse trailers, machinery and more submerged under water in just 15 minutes.
With no warning from the Environment Agency of what was to come, Sarah and her team faced a battle against the clock to get all the animals, including their eight horses to safety.
Sarah explained:
“At 6:30am the water came over the brook and onto our farm and began to rise very quickly and by 7am the water had reached my neck (I am 5ft 4). Members of our team risked their own lives to save our 8 horses, which had to be swam out. Once evacuated we were stranded on high ground and only rescued when friends and family offered transport and stables.
“The water eventually subsided after four days leaving wide scale devastation. We lost everything, the only item which could be salvaged was our coffee machine.
“As it was the festive period, we had stocked up on everything, from animal feed to coffee granules. Everything was damaged beyond repair or salvage. We have lost thousands, most of which was not covered on insurance and those that were covered – like our plant and machinery – have excesses in place of £2000.00 for each piece of equipment (we lost 13 machines). The cost of the excess alone is overwhelming.
“We’re a new business. We only opened at the end of March. That’s our livelihood. It just feels like we have a sea of money floating. You can’t get insurance for this, so we’re not insured. It really is as bad as it could possibly be.”
Sarah and the team are determined to try and salvage and repair what they can and are relying heavily on the support of the wider community and friends, who have set up a Go Fund Me page. Any money raised will contribute primarily to the reopening of the café and dog park, which have been completely destroyed.
If you feel like you could help, please visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/barrow-field-dog-park
Manchester Evening News and the BBC covered the devastating damage done to Barrow Field Farm. Click the links below to read more.
OUR MEMBERSHIP
We're here to help make your catering business a success. Whether that be starting up or getting on top of your compliance and marketing. We're here to help you succeed.
Want our latest content?
Subscribe to our mailing list and get weekly insights, resources and articles for free
Get the emails