Blaze at Woodside Hotel, Birkenhead (320)
FIREFIGHTERS were last night investigating the cause of a blaze at a landmark Wirral hotel which created clouds of smoke which could be seen across the Mersey.
Crews were called to the Wood-side Hotel, which has been closed since the start of the year, after a fire is thought to have started on the first floor of the building.
Crowds of people had gathered at Woodside, near the Birkenhead ferry terminal, many snapping pictures of the dramatic blaze on their mobile phones.
Merseyside Fire Service was alerted at around 1.40pm yester-day to the blaze which quickly spread to the second floor of the building and then into the roof.
Roads were also closed off much of yesterday afternoon, causing some traffic problems as rush hour approached.
Last night, a spokesman for the owners of the hotel, Peach Developments, said there had been “a constant battle” with people breaking into the hotel since it closed.
Despite being boarded up and items of value removed, it has still attracted a stream of intruders.
Yesterday’s blaze followed a fire in June when tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused in a fire at the hotel, which was being treated as suspicious.
It is a key element in a proposed multi-million pound regeneration of the Wirral waterfront.
The spokesman for Peach Developments said: “It’s been a constant battle with numerous people being arrested at the premises. It is very upsetting, but it shows the need for regeneration of the area.
“We have cleared it out, and the police must have arrested six or seven people over the last couple of months.”
He said this latest incident would not stop their plans for redevelopment of the site.
A spokesman for Mersey-side Fire and Rescue Service said last night that an inci-dent investigation team was at the site, although the damage was so severe that entry may be delayed until today.
In May, 2007, a deal to proceed with the multi-million pound regeneration of the key Mersey waterfront site was agreed. The development would stretch from Woodside towards the Georgian splendour of Hamilton Square.
Peach Developments own the Woodside Hotel which is the key site in the area, and following their initial master-plan a further study of the area was created.
This had formed the basis of a public consultation which met with public approval, according to those backing the scheme.
