100-year-old building demolished by Storm Eowyn’s 60mph winds ripping down walls
A 100-year-old building has been destroyed after being hit by 60mph winds in Storm Eowyn.
Cracks started to appear in the red-bricked property, which dates from the 1900s, late last week.
They got worse after Storm Eowyn whipped up high winds on Friday, causing the three-storey building in Hale, Greater Manchester to collapse.
Michael Haworth, joint owner of nearby Porters hairdressers, caught the moment it collapsed yesterday.
In the footage, a red brick wall can be seen peeling away from one end before debris crashes to the ground.
Michael said: ‘I am one of the proprietors of Porters which is next door but one, and there is an Indian restaurant which is in between.
‘My fire escape allowed me to get into a little alleyway from where I could get the footage.
‘The building was condemned on Thursday.
‘I believe the hairdressers next door, called The Knot, were complaining that their floor was cracking so building regulations were called in.’
The building, which has been empty for about two years, was last occupied by Atticus bar.
Trafford council officers ordered the closure of The Knot Hair Studio and another nearby business, the Mouse House Print Shop, as a precaution.
On Friday morning a cordon was erected and the plan was for a controlled demolition.
But mother nature struck before they could act.
Michael said the person who bought the building ‘was going to turn it into a private medical practice’.
‘It has had extensive works done including a big excavation at the back which I can only assume they were going to extend the basement and possibly build on top of that,’ he said.
‘It is an historic building and there is quite interesting architecture on the front of it.
‘It was quite edgy watching it come down, especially being so close to it. I did wonder if it was going to come straight at me.
‘Apparently the building has been creaking since Friday.
‘Quite possibly the situation with the building has worsened because of the storm. The road has now been closed off completely. I assume a controlled deconstruction will now take place.’
A design statement on the Trafford Council planning application site states that the work being carried out before the collapse would ‘retain the existing shop front main entrance and provide a separate staff entrance & fire exit on the side elevation facing onto Bath Place’.
It added that the internal spaces should include for at least four consultation rooms, a reception area and waiting room, counselling room, new accessible WC/shower area, education suite, manager’s office and admin office.
The work also required the removal of an existing commercial kitchen at the rear basement floor level to provide for a lower ground floor landscaped courtyard at the rear of the property.
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