Lancaster City Council issues update after car crushed by partial wall collapse on Thurnham Street
Engineers are continuing work to stabilise a building in Lancaster city centre after part of a wall collapsed and crushed a car.
Emergency procedures were put in place after the partial collapse of a property on Thurnham Street on the evening of Thursday, March 5.
Lancaster City Council said officers were alerted to the incident and immediately attended the scene, where it was discovered that the top right-hand half of the outer leaf of a gable wall had fallen onto adjoining land.
The collapse scattered masonry into the road and the nearby Kwik Fit car park, where a vehicle had just completed an MOT inspection.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported.
The council said its priority was to secure the site and prevent any further collapse, working alongside partner organisations and structural engineers.
Road partially reopened
Thurnham Street was initially closed to both pedestrians and vehicles while the site was assessed.
However, after initial safety work was carried out, one lane of the road reopened shortly after lunchtime on Thursday, March 6.
Further work is now planned to stabilise the building.
Temporary support being installed
The council’s Building Control Team, working alongside structural engineers Thomas Consulting, has designed a temporary support arrangement for the building owner to put in place.
The work must now be carried out by a suitably qualified specialist before the road can fully reopen.
Once the temporary stabilisation work has been completed, the skips currently located on Thurnham Street will be removed and the road will reopen fully.
Council thanks public for patience
Mark Cassidy, Chief Officer (Planning and Climate Change) at Lancaster City Council, said: “Following notification that this incident had taken place, council officers worked closely with partner organisations and specialist engineers to secure the site and reduce disruption.
“Our thanks go to all those involved for their support in responding to the incident, and in particular Thomas Consulting for their structural assessment work at short notice.
“As you would expect, the safety of the public was the clear priority throughout and we would all like to thank everyone for their patience and cooperation during the road closure.”