Collapsed building owner denies removing pillars

The owner of a historic courthouse has denied accusations he removed pillars from the building before it collapsed into a river.

The rear section of Cockermouth Old Courthouse fell into the River Cocker in Cumbria in 2023 and the Grade II-listed building has yet to be repaired.

Labour MP for Penrith and Solway, Markus Campbell-Savours, claimed in Parliament the building's owner ignored advice about removing the support pillars and now wants the taxpayer to foot a repair bill of between £1m and £4m.

The Old Courthouse's owner, Samiul Ahmed, said he did not remove the pillars and said he only wanted support from the council.

The Old Courthouse is about 190 years old and has not been used since 2021.

But its collapse meant a nearby bridge had to be closed to traffic over safety concerns, leading to weeks of disruption through Cockermouth.

Campbell-Savours also claimed the damage to the building had led to an increased risk of flooding in the town.

"There is clearly a responsibility on the Environment Agency to reduce flooding risks in the town but right now they are being impeded in their ability to do that because of the difficult access to a dangerous building," he said.

But Mr Ahmed claimed the MP's comments were nothing more than a PR stunt.

"I didn't remove any pillars," he said.

"It's an investment. We bought it and we want to fix the building and get it back into use."

When asked about whether he wanted the taxpayer to pay for the repairs, Mr Ahmed said: "Why would we want that? We just need support from the council."

Mr Ahmed claimed he already had plans to repair the building and turn it into residential flats.

He said he was unable to proceed with the plans because representatives from Cumberland Council refused to meet with him, a claim the council denies.

In March 2024, the local authority said it was planning to complete the urgent works to the building and would recoup the costs from Mr Ahmed.

But earlier this year, it said it had "no plans to undertake any physical works on the building" because it remained in private ownership.

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