Road closure costs demanded after factory fire

A council says it is demanding money from building owners following a fire, after not getting payment towards costs incurred from a road closure.

Upper Villiers Street in Wolverhampton has remained shut since a blaze at a building in January "due to concerns about the structural stability of the site", the council said.

More than 100 firefighters were at the Grade II listed former Moorfields Works in that road and Sunbeam Street in January, an ex-factory which once contained the Sunbeam Motor Car Company.

The council stated it was "ramping up enforcement to recover unpaid money".

This followed the failure of owners of former Sunbeam buildings "to take the action needed to make the fire-damaged site safe" and enable the road to reopen, the authority claimed.

It stated it had not received any payment towards the "significant costs incurred from the road closure" and extensive safety measures put in place since the blaze, "leaving the taxpayer to pick up the bill".

The council said it was not satisfied by survey reports submitted on behalf of owners and did not consider there to be sufficient evidence to demonstrate "the building can be safely managed without the existing restrictions".

Independent surveys and assessments were being considered to establish the true condition of the site and help determine what further action was required, it added.

Council cabinet member for city transport Bhupinder Gakhal said it would continue to pursue costs and "explore every available avenue to recover public money".

"We are not satisfied by the reports submitted on the owners' behalf and we do not currently have the assurances needed to conclude the building is safe.

"If necessary, we will commission our own specialist assessments to establish the facts."

He stated no responsible authority could reopen the road while "there remain serious unanswered questions" about the condition of a large fire-damaged building overlooking a "busy public highway".

Gakhal said the council had worked constructively with the owners, providing advice, support and "opportunities to move matters forward".

But he added progress had been "repeatedly delayed because the necessary information, evidence and actions required from the owners have not been provided to the standard needed".

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