UPDATE: 7 July 2025
On Monday 7 July the council and police organised for a structural engineer to enter the damaged buildings.
In preliminary comments shared with business owners the engineer has determined that the building is not safe enough to enter.
Staff from House of Boo say this means they cannot collect their possessions.
However, business operators like Emily and Debbie (below) who trade from adjacent buildings on Chapel Street are now able to return, allying fears we reported that they could be unable to work from there for a whole week.
From Sunday 5 July
It’s not just the people who work in the fire damaged buildings of Lavant Street who are unable to trade.
Other independent local businesses inside the fire safety and police cordon are not permitted to enter their buildings until they’ve been deemed safe by a structural engineer from the council.
Petersfield hairdressers Emily and Debbie are unable to gain access to their hairdressers business on Chapel Street after the fire on Lavant Street.
Tanya who runs the Twilly’s alterations store next door is similarly affected. She’s issued a statement to her customers:
We would like to thank everyone for their kind words, thoughts and messages. We have been informed by the Police and Fire service that until a structural engineer has inspected the building, we will not be able to gain access to our premises, this means we do not know if there is any smoke damage to our shop. We have ALL customer orders at our home, we will do our best to deliver completed orders, or if anyone wants to collect please ring us. At the same time I will be working from home until the shop reopens, so for any repairs or alterations please give us a ring.
All these traders are concerned that delays in getting a structural engineer to the site may leave them unable to trade in the town centre for up to a week.
Shine Radio understands that efforts were made by East Hampshire District Council to contract a civil engineer on Friday but that the earliest that can happen is on Monday.
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