structurally much stronger than even the most optimistic of the free holders had anticipated – apart from the façade of the tudor building in Higher Street, owned by tim and becca way. ‘that the front of the building is still standing is just miraculous,’ said tim. ‘All the weight of the building was going through one beam at the front – a beam taken from a ship. the fire has left that cracked. it’s now supported by scaffolding, but most people can’t believe it didn’t come down before the scaffolding was erected.’ Once the safety of the buildings was established the
scaffolding was ‘thinned out’ and turned into a working scaffold, and work began to clear the tons of debris filling the burnt out buildings. the strip out took place under strict controls so that any part of the original building which could still be used would be left and, if possible, incorporated back into the rebuilt structure. After three surveys – establishing what had been there before the fire, what was there after it, and how it could be restored – it was time to bring in architects to draw up plans. this process brought about some surprising historical facts. ‘it turns out our building is one of the oldest,’ said Simon.
‘the shop was a merchant’s store, shop and home when the waterside was where Fairfax Place is today.’ lesley Challacombe said; ‘we have found that our building
has been built onto an existing building. You can also see in the other buildings that there are hundreds of tiny bricks which were brought to the town by merchants as ballast in their ships – its amazing what you can now see.’ this is the point where the freeholders found themselves going at different paces, and creates the confusion which surrounds the state of the rebuilding process in the wider town.
Sarah Squire surveys where four floors should be
Planning permission is coming through for most of the freeholders – who are based in grade two listed buildings. but the Higher Street tudor building, which did hold a thai restaurant at the time of the fire, is grade two *, which means that tim and becca – who only took ownership of the building from their parents nigel and Anne way six weeks before the fire – have to fulfil more criteria to receive their planning permission. the rebuild for that building is also much more complicated because the front of the building cannot be touched. ‘we have a lot of challenges to face,’ said tim. ‘we are looking at ways in which we can rebuild the place without damaging it and also supporting the front. we are currently examining ways of doing that. but it has to be said it’s a long road. we have to put the building back, and the plan is to do so in a way which is in keeping with the original building, and actually bringing back features which were ripped out in the 1960s.’
Sarah Squire, of the wheelhouse Fish and Chip restaurant – which she owns with her brother Jonathan walker - said
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