Belfast Cathedral Quarter: Fire cordon costs business '£10k a day'

A businessman says he is losing £10,000 each day his shop has not been allowed to open due to a fire at a building in the Cathedral Quarter on Monday.

Some streets around the scene of the blaze remain sealed off while efforts continue to make the building safe.

A number of shops and offices are closed and traffic is still not allowed through Donegal Street and Academy street.

The Police Ombudsman's office also remains closed.

Staff are working remotely pending the outcome of structural tests on the damaged building which in close proximity to the office.

A spokesperson told BBC News NI there had been no damage to the office or any of its contents, but telephone lines have been out of operation since the fire.

Donagh McGoveran, who owns a shop beside the building, said there was nothing wrong with his shop but it is inside the cordon and had not been allowed to reopen.

Mr McGoveran said it has been "devastating" and "hugely frustrating" that he could not access his business.

"We can't believe it."

"The new university has only opened the first week of term last week, we have been waiting a long time for the campus to open and it finally did and then we come in the Monday morning and see the devastation here," he continued.

"We are losing the guts of £10,000 a day in sales here, I have also got my staff who are concerned about their jobs, we have a lot of food in the store there that is very short-dated and we need to get access to that."

Long-term, he said businesses in the area do not want it to become "another Primark".

This is a reference to the Bank Buildings fire in 2018 which caused a number of nearby shops to close until the cordon was reduced.

Olwen Laird, the chief executive at the Police Ombudsman's office, said although their office building has been closed since the fire they were continuing to operate as normal with staff working remotely.

"It is disruption but it is limited and we hope that people should not see a material impact on the progression of any complaints that they make to us," she said.

Ms Laird said although they were yet to get confirmation from the landlord, she said there seemed to be no damage to any of the contents in the building.

"Physical files are all intact and systems have been unaffected," she said.

Belfast City Council said its officers had been actively involved at the site of the fire in the Cathedral Quarter.

A spokesperson said: "Our building control team has attended the site of the fire to assess the building under the dangerous structures legislation.

"We are working with the owner and their representatives to have the building made safe as quickly as possible.

"Council officers are working with Destination CQ to help identify any vacant buildings within the city centre which could be used as temporary spaces for the businesses affected by the fire," they continued.

"We are also exploring how we can support the businesses and artists with practical help around insurance and legal issues."

Many artists and other workers in the creative industry lost their work and their workspaces in the fire.

Crews from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service spent around eleven hours at the scene on Monday after the fire was discovered shortly after 05:30 BST.