Yahoo News 'Unexpected problems' - Council on why Stoke-on-Trent road is still shut
Council leaders say engineers have encountered 'unexpected problems' at a fire-hit building - to leave a major road still closed. But officials say there are 'extensive efforts' to get Newcastle Street, in Middleport, back open as traders have been left counting the cost.
StokeonTrentLive has reported how despite hope the route would be back open to some extent in the last week of June - it remains shut today with caging still up. It comes after firefighters had descended on the neighbourhood back on April 7 where one man was treated at the scene by paramedics.
Since then the local authority has ordered the owner of the building to take action. But a deadline passed and since then Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been preparing to carry out work and get the stretch back open.
But hopes that the road would be back open with temporary traffic lights in the final week of June failed to materialise with motorists left questioning when they could use it again. Today and the city council has told StokeonTrentLive it has been in talks with the owners of the affected buildings - but no 'necessary action' has been forthcoming.
Subsequently the council has now brought in its own structural engineers and the conclusion has been reached 'some element of demolition' will be needed. It has also been revealed that brickwork on two buildings is at risk of collapsing - which the council fears could be brought on by the vibration of passing traffic.
A council spokesperson said: "Despite extensive efforts to reopen this part of our road network and get traffic flow back to normal, the team on site has encountered unexpected problems because of the state of the building following the fire back in April this year. During our investigation, it’s clear that the structural damage to the building is far worse than we expected and we will now need to focus on making sure the site is safe before we can confidently open up the road as we would like to.
The council has not been able to offer a date of when the road may reopen - but has thanked residents for their ongoing patience.
The spokesperson continued: "The city council is in talks with the owners of the buildings and is offering support and trying to come to an agreement about the next steps required so that we can get the road open as soon as possible.
"Unfortunately, the owners of the buildings that have been affected have failed to take the necessary action, and therefore the city council has had to appoint its own structural engineers to carry out a health and safety review of the buildings to allow them to then advise on the best way forward. These actions do regrettably take time.
"It is now clear that some element of demolition will be required to protect the public, and we will assess the situation as we go along. The demolition will be carried out in a safe manner that protects the public. The demolition will include brickwork around the dormer window which is currently cracked and the outer brickwork on both buildings is at risk of collapsing outwards. This could be triggered by vibration from passing traffic.
"The health and safety of our residents, whether nearby neighbours, pedestrians, drivers or visitors to the city, is paramount and we would like to thank all for their patience during this time. We will be working as quickly as we can to open the road as soon as it is safe."
