Two shops in the middle of one of Swansea's most prominent streets look set to be demolished over fears that they are "unsafe". Swansea Council has been asked to grant permission for 226 and 226A High Street to come down.
Coastal Housing Group is behind the plans, and planning documents put forward as part of its bid describe how there is "a risk of masonry collapsing onto the public footway" from the three-storey building which houses the shops. You can sign up to the latest newsletters featuring news from the Swansea area by clicking here.
In the meantime, safety measures have been placed around the building to protect the public, like scaffolding, fencing and concrete blocks. It is not the only building surrounded by scaffolding in Swansea city centre at the moment. Shops and cafes along Princess Way have been covered in it since 2018. You can read more about that by clicking here.
Asbri Planning, which is handling the application on behalf of the applicants, writes: "The building is in a state of disrepair and poses a public health and safety risk. In order to minimise the risk, Coastal Housing Group has undertaken temporary support works including scaffold, concrete blocks and Heras fencing along High Street to reduce the risk of masonry collapsing forward onto the public footway. It is therefore considered in the best interests of highway and pedestrian users that the building is demolished as soon as practicably possible. The building has been rendered unsafe and no internal access is permitted to the building."
If given the go-ahead, the application adds that the start of the demolition work would involve siting a crane at the front of the site in High Street, with contractors lifted over the roof in a man-basket. Roof tiles would be removed using hand tools like claw hammers and crow bars, with all tiles removed down to the wall plate. Removed tiles would be dropped into the building as they are removed.
This method of working would allow for regular inspection of exposed roof timbers and insulation for any evidence of bats, the application states. The authority's planning committee will now consider whether to give the plans the go-ahead.
