Bury St Edmunds Fire : Street Re-Opens

19 July 2012, 00:00 | Updated: 19 July 2012, 07:20

Full pedestrian access to a busy shopping street in Bury St Edmunds has re-opened after a big restaurant fire last month.

Pedestrians are now able to walk the length of the Traverse for the first time since fire gutted Cupola House, the Grade I listed landmark building in the middle of the attractive street, on Saturday 16 June.  

Once engineers have dealt with the immediate aftermath of the fire, a roof will be put over the remains of the building to protect it while plans are agreed for what to do next.

 Cllr Robert Everitt, St Edmundsbury Borough Council Cabinet member for Bury St Edmunds said

“Restoring footfall and returning customers to this lovely street has been the centre of everyone’s efforts and the engineers must be congratulated for tackling this challenging project with great professionalism and care for neighbours. It has been a very stressful time for the retailers and residents and I believe we are now turning a corner. I know the whole town is behind the reinstatement of Cupola House, and restoring the vibrancy of the attractive shopping street.”