On 5 December 2015 Storm Desmond struck Carlisle. After what seemed like endless rain in the previous months, Storm Desmond was the Storm that broke Carlisle.

Carlisle Youth Zone, like many, many other businesses and homes, was flooded. The entire ground floor was under 4ft of dirty, smelly water. Absolutely nothing, from furniture to IT equipment, to kitchen equipment to the plaster on the walls and even the floor was salvageable. It all had to go.

We were absolutely heartbroken, Carlisle Youth Zone had been wiped out.

#TeamCYZ was inspiring and confident; Storm Desmond would not beat us! Having gained access to the building, together we worked on plans to continue to ensure every young person living here in Carlisle had a safe and fun place to visit. It’s with a massive heartfelt thanks to people, local businesses, volunteers and staff for their generosity and support that we were able to transform the 1st and 2nd floor of the building and were back open after only 10 days!

We commenced 2 years worth of building work to restore our building to its former glory.