Latest news with #GorgeCafe
BBC News
11-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Gorge Cafe: Dorchester's South Street reopens months after fire
A shopping street that has been closed since fire tore through a cafe four months ago has partially Gorge Cafe was completely destroyed and neighbouring buildings were damaged in the blaze on 9 and engineers have been working to stabilise the remaining structures but the closure has left nearby businesses counting the Friday afternoon, a path was re-opened through the affected part of South Street, allowing shoppers to walk through and for stores to reopen. Speaking to Radio Solent's Dorset Breakfast show, Neil Strudwick, owner of Goldcrest Jewellers, said: "The footfall is going to go up. We can't wait to get back open again and get back to normality."A lot of South Street is niche, independent businesses."We're really looking forward to getting this street open as soon as possible."Michael Quinn of Quinn's Butchers in the Hardye Arcade said a significant proportion of his business came from passing trade."We've dropped at least 25% of our customers and we are looking to get them back now," he Kareem of Mina's Deli said: "It did have a big impact because it happened in December, the busiest month of the year, and it took a while for people to realise we were still open." The Grade II-listed, terraced building, where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect, was destroyed in the fire and collapsed further several weeks Faber, of Jordan and Faber contractors, said his company had been working to make the area safe, erecting complex scaffolding to support the damaged said: "We've had nine weeks to get to where we've got to. "I appreciate the public wanted it open as soon as possible but safety was the number one priority, for the guys doing the work and for the public."Mr Strudwick said: "There will, from Friday be a clear access path past the fire site from one end to the other of South Street, and the blockage at the end of Hardye Arcade will go, allowing full access once again from both ends of the arcade." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Path to shops to open four months after cafe fire
A walkway giving access to a shopping street is to open four months after a fire which caused a cafe building to collapse. South Street in Dorchester has been closed since the blaze at the Gorge Cafe in the early hours of 9 December. Dorset Council said contractors working at the site were set to create a walkway so pedestrians can get from one side of the street to the other. The council said the hoardings were expected to be adjusted on 11 April. The fire destroyed the Grade II listed terraced building in South Street, where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect. The building further collapsed several weeks after the fire with the street sealed off due to safety concerns. About 50 firefighters tackled the blaze as it tore through the building shortly after 03:30 GMT. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Utilities begin work at collapsed fire-hit cafe Cafe fire collapse halts neighbouring shop revamp Fire-ravaged cafe not safe for fire investigators More of fire-ravaged cafe collapses after blaze Cafe partially collapses as fire engulfs building Dorset Council
BBC News
03-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Path to shops to open four months after Dorchester cafe fire
A walkway giving access to a shopping street is to open four months after a fire which caused a cafe building to Street in Dorchester has been closed since the blaze at the Gorge Cafe in the early hours of 9 Council said contractors working at the site were set to create a walkway so pedestrians can get from one side of the street to the council said the hoardings were expected to be adjusted on 11 April. The fire destroyed the Grade II listed terraced building in South Street, where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an building further collapsed several weeks after the fire with the street sealed off due to safety 50 firefighters tackled the blaze as it tore through the building shortly after 03:30 GMT. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
10-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Dorchester: Work to clear fire-gutted cafe making progress
Work to stabilise and clear a cafe and three neighbouring buildings following a fire is making fire tore through the Grade II listed Gorge Cafe in South Street, Dorchester where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect on 9 December shortly after 03:30 GMT.A section of the pedestrianised shopping street has been sealed off since - the building collapsed further several weeks after the of building control at Dorset Council David Kitcatt said: "We've got contractors on site now working away taking parts of the dangerous elements of the building down." Kitcatt said the loose masonry from the building would be removed before the piles of rubble left across the street can be cleared and scaffolding put up."They will stabilise the front and take down the loose material before moving the rubble back and then they will clear from the back forward," he added the council was overseeing public safety at the site but the contractors were running the work at the site as the buildings were privately said a more detailed timescale to get the site cleared and stable enough to reopen it to the public was not yet possible to gauge."It all depends on how quickly they can work, the weather conditions... and of course public safety is paramount," he said. Along with the cafe one building to its left and two to its right were damaged by the heat from the fire and street bins were left the work on the site is finished further scaffolding will be put up on the neighbouring buildings, and the timber hoarding rebuilt to make a new pedestrian access along the 50 firefighters tackled the blaze and no-one was injured in the building had a stone plaque on its front wall, in the centre of the first floor, honouring Thomas stated the novelist and poet trained at the building as an apprentice architect to John Hicks between 1856-1862. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Clear-up to begin at fire-gutted collapsed cafe
A clear-up is set to begin at a cafe destroyed and left strewn across a street following a fire. The blaze at the Grade II listed Gorge Cafe in South Street, Dorchester, Dorset, broke out on 9 December, shortly after 03:30 GMT. The building, where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect, collapsed into the street and the buildings on either side were severely damaged. Dorset Council has confirmed work is due to get under way to deal with the fallen debris and put up safety scaffolding. The authority said contractors were currently drawing up a plan for the work which was expected to start "sometime next week, subject to set-up and weather conditions". Once the work on the cafe site is complete further scaffolding will be put up on the neighbouring buildings, and timber hoarding rebuilt to create a new pedestrian access. The council added due to the need to "risk assess the buildings daily" a more detailed timescale had not yet been set out. About 50 firefighters tackled the blaze that swept through the cafe and spread to the roofs of neighbouring buildings. Since the fire, a stretch of South Street near the burnt-out building has remained cordoned off. No-one was injured in the fire. The building had a stone plaque on its front wall, in the centre of the first floor, honouring Thomas Hardy. It stated the novelist and poet trained at the building as an apprentice architect to John Hicks between 1856-1862. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Cafe fire collapse halts neighbouring shop revamp More of fire-ravaged cafe collapses after blaze Fire-ravaged cafe not safe for fire investigators Thomas Hardy building lost in fire Dorset Council Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
