Community exasperated over demolition wait

Business owners have welcomed the start of work to make a street safe so a road can reopen after its closure for several months following a fire.

The blaze on Newcastle Street, Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent, on 7 April forced the road to be shut for safety reasons.

"There's no passing trade because people are avoiding this place," pharmacist Sandra Lawrence said.

Work began on Monday to demolish the buildings and the city council's leader admitted she understood local frustrations.

“We are working as quickly as we can to make the area safe," councillor Jane Ashworth said.

David Wood, who works at the nearby Motorcade garage, said before the fire they were selling five or six cars a week and since then, sales have dropped to maybe one a week.

"Really been hard throughout the summer months," he said.

"The last I heard it was going to be the end of August before it reopened again."

The council decided to take action because the owners of the buildings failed to carry out the work themselves.

Engineers were brought in to stabilise them but a decision was then taken to tear them down to make the area safe and get the road reopened.

"It's atrocious to be honest, it's just an eyesore really," resident Mark Ferranti said.

"It's not a good look for the area, it makes everyone look like we're worthless, the city looks a total mess."

While Ms Lawrence said she wanted to see the road reopened as soon as possible, she felt it had been shut for too long.

"It's just ridiculous, I don't understand why it's been closed that long, it's caused nothing but aggro for people who live here," she added.

Mrs Ashworth said she hoped to give an update soon on the full reopening of the road.

“The law around demolishing privately-owned properties is complex. It has taken far too long to sort this out,” she admitted.

In June, the authority said once the work was completed, it would be "seeking recompense from the owners".