CRUNCH talks about the future of a fire-hit derelict building will take place between councillors and police bosses next week after concerns were raised over the safety of its structure.
Building control officers have been checking the former Belmont care home, on Lamb Lane, Monk Bretton, which has been set alight four times in the last month. The latest incident, which happened last Wednesday night, saw crews from Cudworth, Barnsley, Tankersley and Dearne stations battle flames for more than four hours. A multi-agency operation started this week involving the council, police and fire service and the Chronicle understands that safety concerns could lead to its demolition - something which will be discussed at a crime meeting which will be held at The Grove, Royston, at 10am on Tuesday.
Mayor of Barnsley Coun Steve Green, who represents the ward, said: “It’s been a magnet for fires recently and there comes a point when you have to think about the structure’s safety. What remains of it isn’t strong enough, so I think there’s no other choice but to pull it down. It’s also too expensive to keep boarding it up and although youngsters have been blamed for starting the fires, we need to make sure they can’t get in because it could collapse on top of them.
“The police have been at the site regularly this week and although no-one has been caught, it’s clear something needs to happen quickly.
“There’s housing around the site and it’s unsafe and unfair for those residents to have to put up with more incidents.”
Due to the severity of the flames last week - which ravaged its structure a spokesman from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said an aerial appliance had to be drafted in from Sheffield to extinguish the fire from above as they proved too intense for ground officers to stop. Patrols from both PCSOs and PCs were increased in the aftermath of the fire and different shift patterns have been prioritising the area, according to the police, who are expected to name the issue as their top priority at Tuesday’s meeting.
Safer Neighbourhood Service manager Mark Giles told the Chronicle the building, which has been derelict for several years, could follow the same route as the former Butcher’s Arms pub in the village and Dorbren House, Grimethorpe, which were both pulled down due to safety fears.
“Building control will assess the structure and its owner will be told to make it safe or demolish it,” he added. “It’s a pretty straight-forward method but action will be taken either way.”
