City centre area sealed off to secure Wolverhampton nightclub after 'structural concerns'

There were police tape cordons and barriers in place on roads and walkways surrounding the Popworld building on North Street in Wolverhampton following reports by Wolverhampton Council of issues with the building.

Wolverhampton Council has confirmed that work is under way to ensure the building was secure and reassured the public that road closures would not impact the reopening of the Halls on Friday night.

It meant that North Street was closed between Cheapside and Darlington Street, with Cheapside itself closed up to the back entrance to the Slug & Lettuce, while the pedestrian alleyway Blossoms Fold was closed at the junction with North Street.

Popworld is one of the more popular nightspots in Wolverhampton, regularly drawing in large crowds between Fridays and Sundays, but is set to remain closed over the weekend due to work to ensure the integrity of the building.

A spokeswoman for Popworld said the building had suffered damage due to the recent spell of bad weather and was now undergoing repair, with scaffolding set to be erected.

The spokeswoman said: “The recent bad weather has caused some damage to our building which is now undergoing repair.

"This includes erecting scaffolding to ensure the safety of the building.

"As a precaution the road has been closed by the local authority as we work together to ensure the safety of those in and around the area.”

Along the section of North Street, the cordon meant the Dog and Doublet pub and the North Street Food shop were both left unable to open while the closure remained in place, with access only being allowed on the street to Wolverhampton Magistrates Court.

The Electrolyses Centre on Blossoms Fold was still able to open up, with Emily McHale, who had once worked at Popworld, saying she had remembered the building being structurally funny in her time there.

She said: "I used to work there years ago and always found it to be a structurally weird building and a bit dilapidated, with flats above that had holes in the floor and weren't very well looked after.

"I wasn't too surprised to hear it's been closed for now as it needs the work and I hope it doesn't cause any issues with Blur and the Halls on Friday, which it shouldn't do unless the roads are closed off."

On North Street, the Money Point was still open, with staff saying that they had only just heard about the issues with Popworld, but also saying that they weren't worried about it collapsing.

One member of staff said: "I think it'll be fine as it's been there a long time and they'll know what to do to fix the problem, so it should all be fine."

A council spokeswoman said: “After being informed about the discovery of structural issues at Popworld in North Street, Wolverhampton Council is liaising with the venue’s structural engineers to ensure appropriate measures are put in place to secure the building.

“In addition to the overnight road closures, temporary traffic lights have been installed at the junction of Darlington Street and Red Lion Street.

"A traffic flow management system has been put in place around Red Lion Street, Paternoster Row, Mitre Fold and North Street. Access to The Civic Centre car park from North Street is currently closed.

“The road closures will remain in place until further notice.

"They will not have an impact on the reopening of The Halls on Friday night.”