City centre museum gets new flood barriers

Flood defences have been installed inside Derby's Museum of Making to help prevent long-term closures.

The museum, next to the River Derwent in the city centre, was closed for three months after Storm Babet in October 2023 left it with about 70cm of flood water inside.

At the time, officials said a "six-figure sum" had been mostly paid by the building's insurance cover to get it back up and running.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the barriers were installed to help protect the museum's most valuable items.

Alex Rock, director of commercial and operations at Derby Museums Trust, said they were "delighted" to add further protection to the building.

"It adds another layer of protection to two key operational areas, which means that should a flood event occur again – and it is worth bearing in mind that Storm Babet was forecast as a once-in-a-century event for Derby – then we'll be able to shorten the period of closure," he said.

"It protects the two areas of the ground floor that are most impacted by flood events.

Major flood prevention work is also under way on the land surrounding the museum, with a new flood wall, floodgates and a riverside green area to give flood water an escape route.

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