A section of a busy road in Stoke-on-Trent remains closed - eight weeks after a fire tore through a three-storey building. 

Emergency services were called to Newcastle Street, Middleport, on 7 April and a section of the road has been closed ever since. 

This is despite Stoke-on-Trent City Council saying on 21 June that they were working to reopen the road "early next week". Read more here.

The council said on 21 June that they were working to reopen the road 'early next week' (Nub News).

Today (3 July), a council spokesperson said: "Despite extensive efforts to reopen this part of our road network and get traffic flow back to normal, the team on site has encountered unexpected problems because of the state of the building following the fire back in April this year.  

"During our investigation, it's clear that the structural damage to the building is far worse than we expected and we will now need to focus on making sure the site is safe before we can confidently open up the road as we would like to. 

"The city council is in talks with the owners of the buildings and is offering support and trying to come to an agreement about the next steps required so that we can get the road open as soon as possible. 

"Unfortunately, the owners of the buildings that have been affected have failed to take the necessary action, and therefore the city council has had to appoint its own structural engineers to carry out a health and safety review of the buildings to allow them to then advise on the best way forward. These actions do regrettably take time.  

A fire tore through a three-storey building next to Morrisons on 7 April (LDRS).

"It is now clear that some element of demolition will be required to protect the public, and we will assess the situation as we go along. The demolition will be carried out in a safe manner that protects the public. The demolition will include brickwork around the dormer window which is currently cracked and the outer brickwork on both buildings is at risk of collapsing outwards. This could be triggered by vibration from passing traffic.  

"The health and safety of our residents, whether nearby neighbours, pedestrians, drivers or visitors to the city, is paramount and we would like to thank all for their patience during this time.  

"We will be working as quickly as we can to open the road as soon as it is safe."

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READ MORE: Fresh plans submitted to demolish one of Stoke-on-Trent's oldest houses

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