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Path to shops to open four months after cafe fire

Dorset Council Wooden hoarding that's sealing off part of the main shopping street in Dorchester. Beyond the wooden panels is the collapsed building which is surrounded by scaffolding.Dorset Council
Part of Dorchester's main shopping street has been shut since the fire on 9 December

A walkway giving access to a shopping street is to open four months after a fire which caused a cafe building to collapse.

South Street in Dorchester has been closed since the blaze at the Gorge Cafe in the early hours of 9 December.

Dorset Council said contractors working at the site were set to create a walkway so pedestrians can get from one side of the street to the other.

The council said the hoardings were expected to be adjusted on 11 April.

Drone footage showed the cafe's collapse after the fire

The fire destroyed the Grade II listed terraced building in South Street, where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect.

The building further collapsed several weeks after the fire with the street sealed off due to safety concerns.

About 50 firefighters tackled the blaze as it tore through the building shortly after 03:30 GMT.

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