Carliol Square investigation continues
Police investigations at the site of a dramatic fire in Newcastle city centre are continuing – and road restrictions on the Central Motorway are staying in place for now.
Council bosses have confirmed that they have not yet been able to begin the process of tearing down the former For Your Eyes Only club in Carliol Square, which an enormous blaze ripped through in late June.
The huge scale of the fire and the damage caused to the disused building meant that the northbound carriageway of the Central Motorway had to be completely shut for more than a week due to safety concerns.
One of its two lanes reopened on Friday, July 7, with a 30mph speed limit in place – but, 10 days later, there has been no change.
Newcastle City Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Monday afternoon that Northumbria Police remain in control of the burnt-out club site, which they have to hand over to the local authority before any demolition work can begin.
The council pledged that it would “not delay” in returning the Central Motorway to normality once it is considered safe to do so.
Pamela Holmes, the council’s interim assistant director of transport, said: “The city council is continuing to work closely with the police who remain in control of the site. Once their enquiries are complete the site will pass to the city council, and we will begin the process of demolishing the building in liaison with its owners.
“Traffic is flowing freely along the partially reopened carriageway, but we will not delay in reopening the rest of the Central Motorway once it is safe to do so. I would like to thank motorists for their patience and cooperation – it really is appreciated. We will do everything we can to restore normality.”
Massive plumes of smoke could be seen around the city as the fire raged on the evening on Wednesday, June 28.
Northumbria Police declined to provide an updated statement on Monday. The force previously said it was treating the cause of the Carliol Square blaze as suspected arson and that eight people had been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation, all of whom were subsequently released on bail.
Police said on July 7 that they had completed checks to establish whether anyone was inside the building at the time of the fire and that they had moved onto “more detailed searches”.