FIRE-DAMAGED BUILDING IN MARGATE MADE SAFE

A fire-damaged building in Margate has been made safe, after its condition deteriorated significantly.

The Grade II listed property at 47 – 48 Hawley Square was damaged by fire in May 2008 and the council’s Building Control team secured the remaining structure, using support scaffolding.

The Conservation and Building Control teams tried to get the co-operation of the building owner to restore the property, but with no success. During this time, the council has repeatedly secured the site to prevent unauthorised access and have been monitoring the stability of what remains of the structure.

Recent checks showed that the condition of the gable wall, adjacent to the public footpath at the rear of the building, had deteriorated significantly. As there was a danger to the public, emergency measures were put in place, with the footpath closed, so that the dangerous gable wall and the chimney could be removed. This work has now been completed and the footpath has re-opened, without the support scaffolding.

Cllr. Simon Moores, Cabinet Member for Customer Services and Regulatory Services, said: “I’m sure that anyone who uses the footpath behind this property will be familiar with the scaffolding that’s been there for some time. It will come as a welcome relief to finally see that it’s gone and this is thanks to the work of our Building Control team, who acted quickly and decisively, as soon as they realised that the condition of this property presented a danger to the public.”

The Building Control team will continue to monitor the structure and will continue their attempts to work with the owner of the building to restore it.