DWP bosses have issued a statement after falling debris from Blackpool’s new £100m civil service office led to a dramatic evacuation.
Employees at the imposing new building had to be evacuated this morning after a large piece of cladding plunged from the top of the building.
Staff were ushered out of the council-owned building at around 10.30am after the cladding crashed to the pavement near the front entrance.
No one was hurt in the incident but a cordon was put around the building after the narrow strip of grey cladding – one of the ‘slats’ covering the floor to ceiling windows on the 7th floor – plunged to the ground by the main entrance.
Blackpool Council, which owns the building, was approached for comment but a spokesperson said it was a matter for the DWP as the building occupiers.
A DWP spokesperson said: “A contractor is on the site after some material above the entrance became loose. The building is currently closed until we determine next steps.”
The new DWP office, known as Fylde View, is home to around 3,000 staff and was named as the best new building in Lancashire at the prestigious North West Regional Construction Awards last September.
The seven-storey building opened last spring and was delivered by Blackpool Council, alongside nationwide developer Muse, and main contractor VINCI Building.
It was the third phase in Blackpool’s £350m redevelopment of the Talbot Gateway around the train station, which aims to bring over 8,000 professional workers and students into the town centre.
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