By George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporting Service
THE FIVE-FIGURE cost of demolishing a former Hyde bingo hall that was ravaged by fire has been revealed.
Emergency services descended on the Astoria, on Clarendon Street, when it went up in flames on Monday, February 24.
After Tameside Council’s building control declared the structure – which had stood empty since 2009 – dangerous, necessitating immediate demolition under Section 78 of the Building Act 1984, it has come down.
Now the authority has revealed the operation cost £40,000.
Documents state: “The council will initially incur costs up to approximately £0.040m (£40,000) in undertaking the demolition works and associated staff time, traffic management measures, provision of security and fencing.
“Liaison has occurred with the landowner of the site, who has confirmed his agreement for the demolition works to be undertaken by the council’s contractor, given the building’s unsafe condition and urgent need for demolition to commence.”
They also confirmed that all costs will be recovered by the local authority through land charges.
Hyde’s bus station, which lies next to the site, reopened on Wednesday, March 5 after being closed while the works were carried out.
Danny Vaughan, chief network officer at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “We realise that the bus station closure will have caused some disruption for passengers, but people’s safety is always our priority and on this occasion, we had no option but to close the bus station while the demolition took place.
“I’d like to thank passengers for their patience and co-operation while this work was carried out.”