Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Primark offer of help is a bad joke
Concern over plague of rats on city streets Restaurant owner blasts £500k donation over fire
BELFAST city centre is being plagued by rats thought to be taking advantage of rotting food near the exclusion zone at the Primark fire site.
Increasing numbers have been reported by shoppers, workers and rough sleepers, including one man who told outreach workers he had been bitten after finding one asleep in his trouser pocket.
It is feared rodent numbers could be rising for a few reasons:
They could be feeding on freely-available food left behind in the buildings closed to the public following the fire
They are undisturbed by humans in the exclusion zone
The relatively warm weather has allowed them safe breeding conditions, and
Burrows may have been disturbed by building and excavation works in other areas, forcing the rats to relocate up to four miles.
One outreach worker said: “The council are working on it but rats reproduce up to six times a year so there are plenty of them around.”
A city council spokesman added: “Our pest control team have been regularly baiting sewers in the area.
“We have targeted significant resources to reduce the potential of attracting vermin and we will continue to keep this under
review.” THE owner of a restaurant which has been closed since the Primark fire has said it could be years before he can reopen.
City Picnic boss Gavin Gregg also hit out at the retailer, claiming the firm’s financial offer to affected businesses was “a joke and not a funny one”.
He said: “Primark has spent 14-anda-half million on a new unit while we languish in the remains of their old unit.
“I think it’s disgusting we have not been treated with more respect in our situation.”
The restaurant has been in operation for eight years and is owned by Mr Gregg and Arthur
Mcanerney. The business is now under enormous pressure to pay staff.
The blaze, which devastated the historic Bank Buildings in which Primark was located, broke out on August 28.
Even if the cordon, which has been in place since then, is reduced the location of City Picnic means it is unclear if it would be accessible.
Mr Gregg added: “Our business is going to really struggle and we are hearing that, not just for the four months the cordon is down, but for longer we are hearing that Castle Street is going to be a very precarious position for a long period of time. It could be years.” He branded Primark’s ENGINEERS hope to save Bank Buildings’ unstable clock, chimney stacks and dormer windows by removing them brick-by-brick.
Hall Black Douglas Architects have submitted detailed plans to Belfast City Council on how parts of the now “vulnerable” structure could be conserved.
A laser scan and photographic survey will be carried out to record each individual stone on floors four and five, before a cast copy is made and they are removed one at a time.
The masonry will then be labelled and stored in a dry and safe place while the remainder of the structure is covered to protect it from the elements.
The architects said: “A significant proportion of the internal structure has either collapsed or was severely damaged.” £500,000 donation to Belfast businesses “a joke” and estimated the 14 which have been closed due to the fire cordon could lose a collective £150million by January.
He said: “There are 300 businesses affected by this and they throw out halfa-million and they spend 14-and-a-half million on New Look?
“Add it up folks. We’ve been given £19,000 – well we’re £80,000 in debt.
“The British Government has not donated a pound – one of the biggest disasters in Belfast since the Troubles and they have not donated a pound.”
A Belfast City Council spokeswoman responded: “Primark has now lodged a listed building consent application outlining its proposals to make the building safe. Following a public consultation, which runs until October 22, the council’s planning committee will meet to consider the application and next steps.”
A Primark spokesman said the retailer and council are “working hard on finding a way to reduce the cordon and open up the Castle Place junction as soon as possible” and “hope to have a workable solution soon”.
He added: “We remain committed to local businesses and the wider community in Belfast. Primark recently made a £500,000 donation to Belfast City Council’s Business Support Programme.”