A popular shopping complex home to several businesses will not reopen again after it suffered serious damage when a blaze ripped through the building. A fire broke out at Slater’s Shopping Village in November last year.
Ever since the blaze the shopping village has remained closed and some of the affected businesses, which include JR's Texas Smokehouse, Purely Dogs, The Little White Cottage, and Salon Beautyful, have had to relocate elsewhere. In a copy of an email sent to businesses, seen by StokeonTrentLive, it was revealed that the centre will not be rebuilt and they have until October 20 to empty their units.
It is understood that any rebuild would have taken at least 18 months to complete. Demolition of the fire-hit building is expected to start within weeks, Cheshire Live reports.
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The email to the affected businesses states the owners were "devastated by the damage caused by the fire", and adds that while insurance investigations have established there was no fault on their part, it would "not be feasible to rebuild the craft village".
The email adds it had "not been an easy decision", with the owners stating: "We have put 20 years of hard work into building the craft village into the success that it was before the devastating fire."
The owners added that following on from the difficulties of the pandemic, the fire was "the straw that broke the camel's back".
"We would like to thank you for your patience and understanding and wish you every success and happiness going forward," the email adds.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service had been called to Slater's Shopping Village - on Stone Road, in Hill Chorlton - at 3.50am on November 26, 2021. Initial fire investigations suggested that the blaze had been sparked by an 'electrical appliance fault'.
Owners Denis and Karen Slater declined to comment.
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