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A vacant Preston city centre shop that is feared close to collapse will be demolished, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.
The premises, on Cannon Street, is set to be flattened on a date yet to be decided – but the man who raised the alarm about the deteriorating state of the building is warning that the bulldozers had better be quick.
“It’s dropped significantly again in the last few days,” said Andy Jones, who runs a tattoo parlour directly opposite the worryingly wonky retail unit.
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The LDRS understands the owners of the small shop – which has been empty for at least two decades since its last use as a takeaway – have advised Preston City Council that they plan to have it pulled down. The authority has confirmed it has no objection to the proposal.
As the LDRS revealed earlier this week, the building appears as if it is on the verge of folding in on itself.
Andy – who was worried about public safety and the impact on his own business if the premises collapsed – says he was relieved to hear of the impending demolition. However, he remains concerned that the building could yet come down in an uncontrolled way if the work does not begin soon.
“You can see straight through the upstairs window now – it’s fallen by at least six inches, at a conservative estimate, just this week.
“It’s coming down one way or another – I’d say it’s only got days, certainly not weeks,” Andy added.
If the road has to be closed during the demolition work, an application for permission will have to be made to Lancashire County Council.
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