Princes Street fire: Stark briefing spells out scale of task facing engineers trying to save former Debenhams store
‘8 to 12 metres of unrestrained masonry... unstable stonework... lintels have failed’
A stark picture of the scale of the task facing those trying to save the fire-ravaged former Debenhams store in Edinburgh’s Princes Street has been revealed in a briefing to councillors.
In the note issued last week, David Givan, the city council's chief planning officer and head of building standards, described the current state of the building at the centre of the July 9 fire, which has resulted in Princes Street being closed ever since.
Mr Givan said: "There is 8 to 12 metres in height of unrestrained masonry of the front façade of the building. There is a portion of significantly compromised and unstable stonework above a third-floor window on the east side and several lintels which have failed on the internal face.
"Since the fire, some internal facing stonework in this area has fallen. Until all this is secured there is a risk that further masonry could fall.”
The council previously said it was working to secure the facade of the building as a top priority.
Mr Givan said in his breifing: "Designs have been prepared for the façade retention steelwork that will secure the Princes Street façade. The material for this has been brought to site and has been partially assembled to speed the overall installation period.
"Installation of the steelwork will follow two key operations. Debris from the fire needs to be taken out of the building so that the steelwork can be installed. The compromised and unstable stonework needs to be carefully removed (with stonework stored for re-use) and some new brickwork installed to that affected area."
The council also described previously how sensitive the work of removing stonework was, with even slight gusts of wind causing work to be paused.
In the latest update, Mr Givan warned the timescale for completing the works was dependent on "the wind being low enough that works can continue daily".
He said: "The safety of the operatives carrying out this complex and challenging work is of primary importance. This means that work needs to happen sequentially and is largely being conducted from cranes. Where the wind speed exceeds safe working limits, work needs to stop.”
And he added: "All work to date has been, and will continue to be, largely completed by hand making it labour and time intensive."
The council said last Wednesday that the work to stabilise the building would take at least another three weeks and later added it would take around another week after that before Princes Street could be reopened, meaning the closure is expected to last until around August 26 or later.
Mr Givan’s briefing repeats the council’s assessment that without the facade being secured, it would not be safe for trams to run past the building “even at a walking pace, using the southern tram tracks and with very low winds”. It said: “The engineers, who have been looking at this very carefully, have concluded that the risk of further structural failure of this remains too great for trams to be taken in front of the building.”
Trams between Newhaven and the city centre have been suspended since the fire. The briefing reflected the council’s hope that once the facade was secured, trams could be taken past the building and a temporary service could begin on that stretch of the line. But Edinburgh Trams has since signalled that it does not believe a partial service is viable without regular access via Princes Street to the depot at Gogar for maintenance of the trams.
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