A DERELICT house that has been sitting empty for three years and was recently ravaged in an ‘arson’ attack will be knocked down.
A demolition contractor has confirmed the property on Dorchester Road, Weymouth will be demolished in the coming weeks.
This comes after the house was ruined by an alleged arson attack on Wednesday July 13 - which saw around 30 firefighters from Weymouth, Dorchester and Portland tackling the fire.
Read more: Fire breaks out on Dorchester Road in Weymouth
The road was closed in both directions whilst emergency services dealt with the incident and enquiries on scene led police to arrest two teenage girls, aged 14 and 15, on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
An investigation is now underway and enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
South Coast demolition, the contractor working on behalf of the land owner, have confirmed work has already started on the building with the team clearing up debris and rubble last week.
The demolition company aim for the site to be completely cleared by Wednesday July 27.
Hannah Stokes from South Coast Demolition said: “We attended the site last week to clean up debris and make the building safe. We are due back to the site Wednesday to demolish the building and we aim to finish in two weeks.”
The property, located between the Rembrandt Hotel and Cranford House received planning permission in 2019 for three blocks of flats. Standing empty since the planning was approved, it is known to be used by rough sleepers.
Weymouth Town Councillor, Jon Orrell shared his discontent on the empty site, he said: “It’s regrettable that the building owners didn’t redevelop that site more promptly. We’ve got many sites around town where planning permission has been granted but they don’t start building.
“We gave permission to build quite a substantial block of flats there. There’s a pattern of us giving permission and then nothing happens, or they sell.
“It’s a frustration that site owners don’t progress with building and instead leave them in a neglected state, and then something like this happens. It’s a blight on our town.”
South Coast Demolition has urged members of the public that they must not enter the site at all as the building is externally damaged and dangerous.
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