People throughout the country woke up on Sunday to shocking images of an historic Cockermouth building which had partially collapsed hours earlier.

A huge section of the Old Courthouse, a three-storey 194-year-old listed building, tumbled into the River Cocker at about 5am.

Residents were shocked – but not necessarily surprised. Some described it as ‘inevitable’.

Owner Samiul Ahmed, a London property developer who bought the building at auction last summer for £51,000, was devastated to hear what had happened.

“I had just woken up and thought I was dreaming,” he said.

He headed straight for Cockermouth and had a meeting with Cumberland Council on Monday. “I wanted to show my support to the community.

“It was a pre-arranged meeting in Carlisle, originally it was to discuss the way forward,” he said. “Priority must be given to safely opening access to the public and traffic so it does not have so much effect on local businesses.”

Mayor Julie Laidlow said: “We knew something was going to happen, it was inevitable. To see it was such a shock, hard to take in. I’m hoping that all the agencies involved can get together and do what they can.”

Jonty Chippendale, owner of the Toy Shop in Cockermouth, said: “This was so utterly predictable. This has been a failure by the powers that be. No one was prepared to take responsibility. We have been saying this would happen for nearly two years. Now it’s happened, the real loser is Cockermouth. It’s irrecoverable.”

The building was declared unsafe by Allerdale Council and immediately evacuated in November 2021 after the fast-flowing River Cocker eroded the stone section underneath it.

Emergency interim repairs were carried out by the owner at the beginning of last year. A few months later the building went up for auction, with no reserve price.

Mr Ahmed bought it last July, for £51,000. He later pledged to save the iconic building and bring it back to life.

In April this year the town’s Civic Trust raised concerns. Their architectural adviser Darren Ward said: “The state of the Old Courthouse remains a serious concern and fears over its safety persist.

“Following a flurry of activity earlier in the year to install internal scaffold bracing, progress appears to have stalled.

“The building, however, continues to move with visible cracks appearing on the rear and riverside elevations. More worrying, is the recent partial collapse of the rear offshoot.”

At the end of last year, Allerdale Borough Council’s building control team issued a warning about the condition of part of the building.

A council statement (see p5) said: “Steps were taken by the owner in February this year to remedy some of the issues highlighted. He appointed contractors and specialist engineers to temporary stabilise the main building and work on a plan to permanently stabilise the structure. These repairs weren’t undertaken and discussions have been ongoing with the owner to attempt to resolve the issues.”

When asked by the Times & Star this week what work had been carried out to ensure the safety of the structure, Mr Ahmed said: “Authorities have protocols, procedures and policies to adhere to and this can mean things take longer than expected.”

Regarding what happens now, he said: “It’s up to the experts and all the partners working together to ensure it can be safely handled. The future is highly dependent on more investigations of the condition of the building.

“It’s hard to tell when these will take place. I shall then take the necessary actions required as a responsible owner.”