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To: Central Government

The Government should pay Central Plaza demolition costs

Carlisle City Council should not be burdened with the costs of making safe and demolishing the Central Plaza hotel. The expenditure for the works in taking down the dangerously derelict building, which is owned by the Crown Estate, should be met by central Government.

Why is this important?

The Central Plaza hotel in Carlisle City Centre had stood empty and neglected since 2004.

The costs incurred in making the building safe are believed to be running at around £900,000 and the demolition costs are reputed to be in the region of £1.3 million.

The Victoria Viaduct was closed for two months in 2018 as works to ensure that masonry would not fall from the top of the crumbling building were undertaken. The disruption of traffic and pedestrians led to the closure of nearby local business Carlisle Bed Centre.

The City Council were to take further measures under the Building Act 1984 s78 Dangerous Buildings - Emergency Measures, to ensure that the abandoned property did not present an immediate danger to people in or around it as sections of the interior began to dangerously collapse again in October 2019.

The City Council was forced to close off the Victoria Viaduct road again, causing significant traffic disruption into the City centre from the West, and demolition crews moved in to take down the building due to further collapse and safety concerns in December.

As only the Treasury can profit from any subsequent sale of the land through the Crown Estate, we believe that the financial costs incurred should be picked up by the Exchequer and not the City Council and council tax payers of Carlisle.

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Updates

2019-12-23 17:44:40 +0000

100 signatures reached

2019-12-20 07:54:28 +0000

50 signatures reached

2019-12-19 15:36:25 +0000

25 signatures reached

2019-12-19 12:03:59 +0000

10 signatures reached