A ROAD is closed and a shop is shut in Bromsgrove after a partial building collapse in the early hours of this morning.
The incident happened in the building occupied by Midland Waterlife on The Strand.
The Standard was contacted by readers about the incident and fire crews attended to assess the damage.
West Mercia Police and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service were called to the incident.
Picture by Bromsgrove Police. s
A spokesperson for Bromsgrove Police said: “Thankfully, no one was injured and businesses locally have been secured and evacuated as needed.
“The footpath and road is now closed from the Strand towards the Norton Collection Museum and is expected to remain shut overnight while teams assess potential structural instability.”
The owners of Midland Waterlife have also commented on social media about the incident, confirming that all the aquariums, fish and staff were all well.
They said builders and work had been lined up for quite a while now and criticised councils for permit requests which had led to delays to any work needed being carried out.
Picture by Steve Venn. s
In a post on Traffic Bromsgrove, they added: “We have had builders, surveyors and council out to inspect the building and all said it was ‘solid’.
“The builder came to look at the building only a couple of days ago to try and rush the council and speed up things after the snow, cold weather and rain fall had clearly taken its toll.
“Thankfully this happened in the early hours and no one was around to get hurt, the building will shortly be secured and from there the building work can start.
“We do have several customers with items or fish reserved who were collecting today, please keep a eye on our Facebook and we will keep people updated to when we are back up and running.
“Thank you for the people who stopped to ask if we was okay and the couple of people who offered to pop to Greggs to get us a few warm drinks while we were outside, still have faith that most people out their still have decent morals.”
Picture by Bromsgrove Police. s
The Strand is also closed for safety reasons.
