A busy north London high street is to remain shut for another week after a building partially collapsed on Friday morning.
Firefighters and paramedics rushed to Stoke Newington High Street after masonry and scaffolding came crashing down, engulfing an Afro-Caribbean greengrocer - while eyewitnesses reported seeing a “huge ball of orange dust” and said it was “like a bomb that had gone off”.
Residents living in flats above the shop were rescued using a cherry picker, and the road was shut to pedestrians, cyclists and traffic between Tyssen Road and Brooke Road.
Hackney Council on Monday confirmed the the street was “likely to remain closed until at least next weekend” while workers carry out the “complex” work of making the building safe.
The authority said the site’s tenants are being temporarily housed elsewhere, while alternative accommodation is also being found for people living across the road who have also had to relocate.
Hackney Council said: “The council has used its building control enforcement powers to take control of the work to make the building safe. Our contractors are now working hard to construct a supporting structure that will stabilise the existing scaffold and the building, so that work can then take place to make the site safe.
“This is complex work and, while teams are working around the clock, we are not yet able to provide a firm timescale for the work to be completed and the road to reopen.
“We would like to thank local residents and businesses, and other people affected by this urgent work, for their patience while the building is made safe.”
The 67, 76, 149, and 243 buses continue to be diverted, while the 276 is operating on a shorter route ending at Amhurst Road/Hackney Downs station and starting at Hackney Central station.
Low traffic neighbourhood restrictions in nearby areas have also been temporarily suspended.
Describing the partial collapse on Friday, one shop worker said: “There was dust everywhere. I opened the door and shouted at people to get away. It was a miracle no-one was killed.
“We were worried about the builders,” he added. “Then the scaffolders came down they were all effing and blinding at each other.
“The really incredible thing is that it was allowed to happen.”
Local Beth Clifton, 39, told the Standard: “I am luckily OK. Twenty seconds earlier and I wouldn’t have been.
“There was a massive crash and huge ball of orange dust covered the area. When the dust settled I walked across the road to see the damage.”
For more details on the road closure’s impact on transport, visit the TfL website.
