A POPULAR Winchester cafe has closed for repair work after it was damaged during this summer's flash floods.

Josie's in Jewry Street, which can only rarely be seen without a full house, closed on November 4 and is due to reopen tomorrow, November 7.

The floods on August 1 saw the High Street inundated with raw sewage, which poured out of the city's choked-up sewerage system as a "biblical" downpour engulfed the area.

While the shops worst affected were those towards the bottom of the High Street, some buildings on Jewry Street also suffered damage.

READ MORE: Winchester flooding causes high street shop closures

The storm on August 1 affected a number of businesses in Winchester (Image: Sebastian Haw) One of these was the Wetherspoon pub The Old Gaolhouse, inside which many pedestrians had taken refuge from the rain, only to find that it was raining indoors as well as the ceiling had begun to leak.

Wetherspoons closed for repairs in August.

Other businesses affected were the British Heart Foundation, which was flooded in spite of its specially-installed barriers, and Card Factory, which was forced to close for a day.

At the time, Winchester City Council leader Martin Tod said: "We do need the County Council and Southern Water to raise their game.  

"The world has changed and this kind of flooding event is getting ever more frequent. I think this one was the worst we’ve seen. We need to speed up improvements to local sewers. I also want to see more regular unblocking of gullies in higher risk areas, not always waiting for people to report them. It’s not just drains. We also need other changes to slow down the water flow.

"The city council isn’t responsible for street drainage, sewage or flooding – that’s a Hampshire County Council and Southern Water responsibility – but our teams were out making sure that the city’s river flood defences were ready in advance – and thankfully they all worked properly.

SEE ALSO: Winchester flooding: Wetherspoon ceiling leaks in storm

"The city council and its contractors were also out first thing this morning cleaning the streets where we’d had reports of flooding debris.

"I also visited affected residents and businesses this morning with our local MP, Danny Chambers, and heard how badly some of them had been affected. We're both working to get faster action to tackle the problem."

The Chronicle has approached Josie's for comment.