Extent of fire damage to historic Wolverhampton factory revealed as planning application goes in
The extent of the damage caused by a huge fire at a Grade II-listed former car factory in Wolverhampton has been revealed.
More than 100 firefighters tackled the huge blaze at the former Moorfields Sunbeam Works in Upper Villiers Street and Sunbeam Street in Wolverhampton in January this year.
The Grade II-listed former factory site, once home to the city’s historic Sunbeam Motor Car Company and one of the earliest purpose-built car factories in the country, was severely damaged by the fire leading to the building’s roof collapsing.
A planning application by Nasa Raj Banga of Banga Properties said the roof of the former main factory area, where it is believed the fire started, had collapsed and needed clearing to gain access to the rest of the building.
Most of the site had been “severely fire damaged” including the main factory, a later steel frame extension at the rear of the site and former offices to the front.
A row of workshops in Sunbeam Street were “largely unaffected by the fire” because of a high brick wall that had acted as a barrier, the planning application said.
However, several walls elsewhere are said to have either fully or partially collapsed and would need to be removed to inspect the rest of the building.
The planning application said the Grade II-listed buildings were of “significant historical and architectural importance” but the “extensive” fire debris was preventing investigations and surveys from being carried out to assess the condition of the building and inform its future restoration.
The application asks for permission to remove fire-damaged debris from the listed building and temporarily ‘prop up’ and secure it where necessary.
Any salvageable materials with historic significance – including bricks – would be kept.
The huge fire broke out around 7.30am on January 14 this year with residents later warned by West Midlands Fire Service to stay inside with doors and windows kept shut.
Huge black clouds of smoke billowed over the city and could be seen from miles away as the UK’s Health Security Agency issued a warning over the fire’s toxicity.
Roads around the scene of the fire were closed for more than a week while work continued to secure the building.
A statement included with the planning application said: “All sections of the building require detailed condition and structural capacity surveys.
“These investigations are essential to determine appropriate strategies for restoration, preservation, or, where unavoidable, selective demolition.
“A photographic survey of the damaged areas will be completed following debris removal and safe access is achieved.
“The proposed removal of fire debris is therefore a necessary and enabling step to facilitate safe access and informed decision-making regarding the future of this important listed structure.”
