Fire-damaged town centre building to be demolished

A town centre building damaged in multiple fires will be demolished this weekend, a council has confirmed.

Two fires broke out at the vacant commercial premises in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, towards the end of 2025, according to the city council. One occured during the early hours of 2 September, when more than 30 firefighters were called out, leading to the evacuation of nearby properties.

Inspectors had monitored the Market Street building and highlighted concerns "about the future safety of the remaining structures on site", the council said.

To carry out the demolition, the section of Market Street near Times Square will be closed to traffic from 19:00 BST on Friday.

It is hoped the work would be finished and road reopened by 15:00 on Monday, the council said.

Bus passengers have been advised about the following changes:

• Service 11: Inbound buses will use King Street, Longton Bus Station, Wood Street, Upper Cross Street, Anchor Road and then resume its normal route
• Services six, 6A, 36 and 36A: Outbound buses will use King Street, Longton Bus Station, Wood Street, Upper Cross Street, Anchor Road, Market Street and then resume normal route. Inbound services use the normal route
• Service 27A: Buses will also use the bus station during their route

A council spokesperson said the work was originally expected to take place over the weekend of 11 and 12 July but the contractors requested it be delayed by a week.

"We apologise for any inconvenience these works might cause but public safety must always come first," they added. "We appreciate people's patience and understanding on this matter."

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.