Fire at abandoned historic building being treated as arson
AFIRE at one of Tewkesbury’s most famous buildings is being treated as arson. It happened at the disused Healing’s Mill in Quay Street on Thursday July 23. Firefighters were there from 5.15pm to 6.20pm.
A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said nobody was injured in the incident, which involved rubbish being on fire.
She said the blaze was being treated as suspicious and the police had been informed.
On the banks of the River Avon and off Quay Street, the mill is probably the second biggest building in the town, behind only Tewkesbury Abbey.
It dominates the landscape behind High Street and next to the Severn Ham, with its redbrick construction towering into the sky.
But it has not been used since the mill closed in 2006 and it is in a very poor condition.
One part of the site, off Back of Avon, appears to be sinking into the river.
And in recent years there has been a big hole in the roof of one of the main buildings and a mixture of broken and boarded up windows at what has been regarded as an eyesore site.
Last year, the borough council said it planned to use some of the £2million it had been awarded by the Government to bring the mill back to life.
The authority had been successful in its bid for a share of £95million of government funding, after achieving ‘High Streets Heritage Action Zone’ status.
Council bosses planned to put the money into a range of projects, which they said would collectively regenerate Tewkesbury through investment into its historic fabric.
Their aspirations included work to improve the public realm and open spaces, improving links from High Street to the river, making improvements to shop fronts and helping to facilitate the revival of some of the historic buildings such as Healing’s Mill.
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