Darwen culvert repair works to begin (From Blackburn Citizen)

Darwen culvert repair works to begin

8:00am Sunday 3rd February 2013 in News

IT is hoped work will soon get under way to repair a Darwen culvert that imploded during floods last summer.

Work must first be carried out to a building in Railway Road to make it safe for the repair works to be made.

Council bosses said they may have to force entry into 29 Railway Road if the building owners don’t make the repairs soon.

But Donald Forbes, who owns the property, said there had been delays due to his wife being ill.

The building was left in danger of collapse after a large hole appeared in the alley during heavy rain last July.

A blocked culvert had filled with water, causing more pressure than the rock tunnel could cope with and its ceiling collapsed.

A section 77 Building Act order was served on Mr Forbes and his wife on December 14, requesting they remove dangerous elements of the property so the culvert damage could be fixed.

But Mr Forbes said: “Things have been a bit difficult at the moment as my wife has been in hospital.”

Blackburn with Darwen’s executive member for Regeneration, Coun Dave Harling, said: “This is a potentially dangerous situation for those involved and we are awaiting a response from the owners so that we can resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

“Ideally, we would like to collaborate with the owners to cause as little disruption as possible to remove the dangerous parts of the outbuilding.

“As a last resort we may have to seek further legal advice to gain entry into the building to continue with the process of partial demolition.”