Fears for the safety of pedestrians have led to a familiar building in the centre of Highbridge being demolished this week, making way for a new development of 14 flats.
Bulldozers smashed down Canal House next to the roundabout in Market Street, as pictured above.
Toni Hammick from developers Property Link told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The building had become unsafe and needed to be quickly demolished because we had concerns for the safety of passing pedestrians.”
“It was not a listed property and had not been well maintained when our client bought it. A recent architect’s report was quite damning.”
She added that there are “no precise timeframes” for work to begin on the replacement building, but added that plans will be submitted to Sedgemoor District Council “soon”.
“The new building will be similar in design to the old property but will be fully modernised,” she said.
Sedgemoor District Council planning officer Colin Arnold told Burnham-On-Sea.com that outline planning permission was granted in 2010 for a restaurant and 14 flats at the site.
“That permission established the principal of the development and, on this basis, we have no objection to the building being demolished now. It was an iconic site in a prominent position, but it was not a listed building.”
Pictured: Top, bulldozers at the site of the former Canal House in Highbridge and, above, the former building and proposed new property
