Edifice may take years and millions to restore

A CONSERVATION architect has warned that Belfast’s famous Bank Buildings “could take five years” to restore.

Bronagh Lynch (inset), of Consarc Design Group Ltd, who has worked on the restoration of several historic buildings, said the cost of any restoration work could run to “millions of pounds”.

“I have been to the edge of the cordon, and seeing it from a distance it is very raw and scary with everything collapsed inside,” she said.

“As a conservation architect, it’s very sad to see a historic building being damaged in this way.

“It is one of the city centre’s prime historic sites.

“The initial challenge for the structural engineers who are working on this would be making it safe and stabilising the internal and external walls and removing the debris inside, which needs to be done by specialist contractors to avoid causing more damage.

“There would then be a salvage operation inside to see what debris can be used to help the rebuilding — stone work or ornamental detailing.

“Structural engineers could use drone footage and a laser scan of the remaining structure to see if there is any movement. “When you look to historical reports it was built with cast iron piers and sandstone, which is potentially why it is still standing.

“Hopefully it is still intact and keeping the external walls in place, but only the engineers who are working on it would be able to judge that.

“Depending on the temperature of the fire, the iron could buckle and the stone could crack, and cold water from the firefighters’ hoses could get in.

“In the past some buildings could be shored up from the outside by being completely scaffolded and the building tied to the scaffold, but it would depend on the situation.”

Despite the scale of the devastation to the landmark building, Ms Lynch said a wealth of knowledge exists on restoring fire-damaged historical sites.

“I have worked on projects in the past and the roof has collapsed and four walls remain, and we have been able to stabilise the structure and rebuild,” she added.

“The skills and knowledge exists to do that in Northern Ireland and the UK.

“A lot of lessons have been learned from fires in other historic buildings, and that will be brought to the table if they go forward with salvaging it.

“This kind of project could take several years by the time it has been stabilised, put back together and made fit for the retail user. It will be complex.

“It could take five years. The last fire of such significance here was probably the Commons Chamber fire at Stormont in 1995, or the fire which gutted St Patrick’s Church in Donegall Street, but we were able to restore it.

“There is hope, there are skills in Northern Ireland and the UK to restore buildings, so we should try and remain positive.”