Newcastle's Central Motorway to remain shut until building safety checks done following fire

Central motorway in Newcastle will remained closed until investigations are concluded to assess the safety of a building following a fire.

The fire started in the Carliol Square area of the city on Wednesday 28 June.

At its height, about 50 firefighters were tackling the blaze in a disused commercial building in the area, with black smoke visible across the city and in Gateshead.

The northbound section of the central motorway remains closed and will do so until building control officers have completed their assessments of the condition of the structure.

The fire was extinguished on Thursday.

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “The fire service and the police are still at the scene of the fire which badly damaged a building in the Carliol Square area of the city last night.

"Once their investigations are completed our building control officers will assess the structure of the building to decide what action, if any, is required to make the building safe in the interest of public safety.

"The northbound section of the central motorway will remain closed until we are confident the site poses no risk to the public.”

Diversions remain in place.

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