A Wellington Town Councillor has called for quick action to reopen Cornhill.

The town centre thoroughfare was forced to closed last month after parts of a building started to collapse.

Rubble fell from the upper floors of 3 Fore Street, following a storm which had hit overnight.

Cornhill, Wellington, business owners Sharon Davis (left) and Tamsin Fuller at the scene of the closure.
Cornhill, Wellington, business owners Sharon Davis (left) and Tamsin Fuller at the scene of the closure. (Tindle)

Highways staff had tried to close off the entire street, before protests by local business owners led them to limit the closure to the alley passing under the damaged building.

Reporters from the Wellington Weekly have since seen multiple pedestrians defying the closure to walk through the closed off alleyway.

Almost three weeks on from the closure, Wellington Town Councillor Zoe Barr has stepped in to urge quick action to get the alley reopened.

Cllr Zoe Barr said: "I hope something will be done quickly to sort this problem out. It looks so unsightly at the moment, Cornhill is right in the middle of the town centre conservation area. We have had a number of concerns for some years about the state of some properties in the area.

"You only have to look across the road at the old Teare's newsagents, and how horrible that looks. It seems nothing has been done about it. I hope that Cornhill isn't allowed to stay like this for years, as Teare's has been.

"We at the town council have been looking to do our bit to improve Cornhill with Christmas lighting, and are working to have lights all year round to make the place more attractive. Cornhill is part of the heritage of the town and should be protected as best we can."

Scaffolding was seen being erected around the damaged property on Tuesday.

Scaffolding has been erected around a property at Cornhill
Scaffolding has been erected around a property at Cornhill (Tindle)

Cllr Zoe Barr raised concerns that Cornhill could be left to languish like the old Teare's newsagents on South Street, which has remained empty since it closed in 2017.

E J Teare's newsagents on South Street has been left vacant since 2017
E J Teare's newsagents on South Street has been left vacant since 2017 (Tindle)

Councillors Andrew Govier and Janet Lloyd have been working behind the scenes to encourage the local authority to use their powers to carry out the necessary renovation works to the South Street address and recover the costs from the owner.

In a statement regarding Cornhill, a spokesperson for Somerset Council said: "This closure is necessary for safety reasons following information provided by Somerset Building Control (SBC). This concerns a building overlooking the footway which has a dangerous balcony that is liable to collapse endangering pedestrians.

"The closure will need to remain in place the owner of the building repairs it the satisfaction if the SBC."