A former strip club where a fire recently broke out is set to be demolished within weeks.
The old Diamonds Lap Dancing club in Bolton town centre is one of a number of buildings which will be torn down to make way for a huge new development.
A row of disused shops and venues fronting Bank Street and Manor Street are set to be removed in place of the Church Wharf regeneration scheme.
A blaze broke out at Diamonds on Friday, June 18, causing Bank Street to be closed in both directions.
Six fire engines, police, and an ambulance were on the scene for over more than two hours dealing with the fire with Bolton Central crew manager, Andy Berry saying the major response was due to ‘the complexity of the buildings’.
He added that there was ‘evidence someone was living there’ but no-one was found at the time.
The area is the site of the £150m Church Wharf development which Bolton Council describes as a new town centre area ‘set alongside the River Croal, providing new homes and jobs and transforming an underused piece of land into a thriving local community’.
It is one of a number of similar schemes planned to change the face of the town.
Outlining the imminent plans to further clear the site, a spokesman for Bolton Council said: “Following a fire at a property in Manor Street on Friday, we have carried out an inspection of the building to identify any immediate safety concerns.
“Demolition of the affected property had already been scheduled for July this year as part of ongoing work to redevelop this part of the town centre.
"The waterfront setting would have a mix of 352 homes, cafes, restaurants, offices and other leisure uses.
“The demolition is still on track to go ahead as planned, contractors have been appointed and security fencing has already been installed.”
Councillors heard the contract for the demolition of the former Late Club and Club Ice, on Bank Street, was originally set at £395,000.
After contractors began work in May 2019, unforeseen additional work was needed to prop the banks of the River Croal and walls and the budget rose to £514,000 by February 2020.
But when the final bill arrived in June 2020, it was for £896,000.
Members of the council’s place scrutiny committee heard neither the project manager nor the contractor informed the council of the rocketing costs.
Rob Holt, a director of Robertson, which is the council’s property management partner, and were project managing the demolition, said at the time they were not aware of any problem until the same time as the council.
He said: “We now feel we have a very, very good process in place. We need this from a reputational perspective and a financial perspective as we can’t afford to let this happen again.”
