Collapsed courthouse owner to be billed for repairs

Cumberland Council will look for contractors to carry out repair works to the Old Courthouse

The owner of a listed building which partially collapsed into a river will be charged for repair work by the local authority.

Cumberland Council will repair the Old Courthouse in Cockermouth, Cumbria, after its owner Samiul Ahmed failed to carry out the work himself.

Mr Ahmed has blamed the council for the delay and said the authority ignored his correspondence.

Cumberland Council said it had "spoken to him on multiple occasions" and has now taken matters into its own hands.

'Wall of silence'

The Old Courthouse collapsed into the River Cocker on 8 October last year, closing Cocker Bridge for two months.

Repairs have yet to be completed despite Cumberland Council serving Mr Ahmed with two notices in January and February, ordering urgent works to preserve the building.

Mr Ahmed said he has attempted to contact Cumberland Council about the "on-going crisis" but claims he was met with a "wall of silence".

He said: "The council's actions have led to undermined confidence in their management of this crisis."

He added the council had caused him "reputational harm" which led to service providers refusing to work on the Old Courthouse.

But a council spokesperson said: "We have met with the owner of the property, exchanged correspondence and spoken to him on multiple occasions, but as yet no meaningful steps have been taken to progress the works.

"We have issued legal notices in attempt to make progress, but these have not been adhered to, so we have now confirmed that we will complete the urgent works and will pursue him to recoup the costs."

The council will now begin a procurement process to find contractors to carry out the repairs, including temporary stabilisation works, demolition at the rear wing and weatherproofing of remaining masonry walls.