June 14, 2019 3.43 pm This story is over 63 months old

Bad weather forces The Barge to close for one day

A decision regarding the weekend will be made on Saturday

The Barge Cocktail Bar. | Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite

The newly opened floating cocktail bar The Barge will be closed on Friday evening, just a day after its official opening.

Bad weather and heavy rainfall has hit the county over the last few days, forcing the venue to consider its options.

A temporary shift to the vessel’s position means the access ramps into the bar have become unsafe for both staff and customers to use, so a decision was made not to open during the evening of Friday, June 14.

On Saturday morning they will also have to consider whether to open for the weekend.

The University of Lincoln Students’ Union (SU) bought The Barge on the Brayford for £192,000, which can hold up to 100 people inside and another 50 outside.

The Barge said in a statement: “Following the extreme weather conditions currently affecting Lincoln, unfortunately, The Barge will not be opening this evening (Friday, June 14).

“Due to the amount of rainfall across the last week, the water level of the Brayford Pool has risen to its highest level since 2012.

“Following advice from the Harbour Master and having considered all options in regards to opening, the management team have taken the difficult decision to not open the bar this evening.

“During the renovation works, every effort has been made to ensure The Barge is structurally sound and fit for purpose, but the result of the change in water level has caused a temporary shift to the vessel’s position meaning the access ramps into the bar have become unsafe for both staff & customers to use.

“The team are aware this is not the first time this has happened in The Barge’s history, and had needed to be closed previously for similar reasons.
“A decision will be made tomorrow (Saturday, June 14) at 11am as to the opening of The Barge for the rest of the weekend and an announcement will be made on our social media channels.”

The Barge Manager Jonny Clamp said: “Not opening this evening, especially on our opening weekend, is that last thing we wanted to do. However, safety has to be our primary concern in a matter such as this.”