Demolition work on two fire damaged buildings on Bangor High Street is finally due to start on 19th March, 2021, which is expected to take a further six weeks to complete once the demolition starts.
Preparatory work has been underway since the beginning of February to take the weight of a 200-Tonne Crane required to demolish buildings at 164 and 166 on High Street Bangor, which were extensively damaged by a fire in December 2019.
The fire destroyed the Noodle One restaurant and the adjoining Morgan Clothes Shop, leaving the buildings in an unsafe state. Scaffolding to support the buildings has forced part of the High Street, between Bangor Cathedral and Lôn Pobty to be closed to traffic since the fire.
Businesses have experienced a significant downturn in trade since the fire and have had to deal with problems with deliveries accessing premises on the high street, particularly large vehicles. The Covid-19 restrictions has only compounded the situation for High Street businesses.
The owners of nearby buildings have now been notified of the anticipated start date and have been asked to vacate their properties due to the ‘unknown stability’ of the fire damaged properties and the use of the overhead crane.
Technical and legal complexities are believed to have hampered the progress with the demolition work. The condition and position of the fire damaged properties, poor ground conditions and congested services has necessitated significant investigation and risk mitigation measures have been attributed to the delay with the demolition.
