'It is another disaster waiting to happen' - Bath traders worry about building's safety after roof collapse

Bath business owners who work under the same shopping corridor roof which partly collapsed worry that 'another disaster is waiting to happen'.

Large chunks of a stone parapet at The Corridor came crashing down after snow settled on the roof on February 1.

Much of The Corridor was closed off to the public, so the concrete, glass, snow and other debris could be cleared, before scaffolding was put up.

That scaffolding is still in place and traders do not know when it will be taken down.

Picture of a damaged part of the roof. Glass and brickwork fell 20-30 feet onto the walkway below. (Image: Bath Chronicle)

In the days and weeks since then, businesses there have slowly but surely been able to open once more, but not without losing a great deal of trade in that period.

One eye witness said that they were worried 'someone may have lost their life', such was the size of the concrete chunks that crashed to the building's floor.

Traders described how the noise 'was like a bomb'.

Now some of them worry about the building's safety and fear that something like this, or worse, could happen again.

Julie Pymm, sales assistant at C The World travel agents, was at work at the time when part of the roof came down.

Debris inside the Corridor shopping centre in High Street, Bath, Somerset. Sections of a snow-covered glass roof collapsed and large pieces of stone fell into the walkway. (Image: Richard Mills / Somerset Live)

"There were two staff here at the time. The noise was like a bomb. It was very loud and very scary," she said.

"Everyone came out of the shops to see what was going on."

She then added: "I worry about the roof. It is another disaster waiting to happen."

The manager of the neighbouring pizza restaurant Dough, Sam Stilo, was also worried about safety issues in The Corridor.

Sam Stilo, restaurant manager at Dough Pizza, hopes that the scaffolding will come down soon (Image: Artur Lesniak/Reach)

"It is an accident that should not have happened but the building is so old," he said.

"We received a bill for service charges for cleaning and maintaining the place the day after which was ironic. I thought it was a joke at the time.

"I would agree that it is a disaster waiting to happen. The roof needs extensive repairing. This could happen again if there is severe rain, wind and snow.

"If the building leaks through, we have to work unbelievably hard to try and work round it to make sure it doesn't hurt our business, and we have to look after our customers.

"More needs to be done in terms of maintaining the building. The scaffolding is not good for business. I hope the process can be sped up because we are getting a lot less footfall along here now."

Nick Karavanas, co-owner of Trash vintage shop, has endured a torrid couple of weeks (Image: Artur Lesniak/Reach)

Nick Karavanas, who co-owns vintage clothing shop Trash, was unable to work at his shop for 12 days because The Corridor was closed and his shop flooded as a result of the melting snow leaking through.

"We pay a maintenance fee but I rarely see checks going on here - and I have been here for 15 months," he said.

"I think more needs to be done here in terms of maintaining the place."

What was the response to this?

The managing agents, Hartnell Taylor Cook, provided a comment on behalf of the landlord.

The spokesperson said: "Following the heavy snowfall, serious damage was caused to the roof of The Corridor and it was necessary to close the centre to carry out the essential works to repair and make the centre safe

"We are pleased this was carried out as quickly as possible in an effort to minimise the impact on the retailers.

"We are sorry for this unforeseen situation and we are currently looking into how to rectify any further damage which may have resulted with surveyors carrying out the necessary investigations.”

Some businesses do not know when the scaffolding will be taken down (Image: Artur Lesniak/Reach)

A spokeswoman for Bath and North East Somerset Council said: "Our Building Control team has been in touch with Hartnell Taylor Cook, the managing agents of The Corridor, following reports of two pieces of masonry being dislodged from the roof which fell through the glass roof and onto The Corridor footway during the recent snow event.

"The Corridor was closed to the public pending investigation and repair action.

"A temporary scaffolding has now been installed to allow access for inspections and as a precautionary measure while the owners undertake further investigations and implement appropriate repairs."