In photos: historic Uckfield building deemed ‘unsafe’ and part of high street closed after multiple cracks discovered

Multiple cracks have been discovered in the façade of the former Maiden’s Head Hotel – a Grade II listed building in the High Street.

According to Historic England, one half of the building dates back to the 18th century, while the other half dates back to the 19th century.

Site visits by a qualified building inspector have been taking place since February to assess and monitor the situation, according to Wealden District Council (WDC).

During the week beginning March 17, a qualified structural engineer confirmed the need to ‘provide temporary support to the façade of the building’.

WDC said its ‘primary concern is public safety’. The council also confirmed that local businesses can remain open.

A WDC spokesperson said: “Several further residents have contacted us with their concerns.”

They said: “After exhaustive but unsuccessful attempts to contact the [building’s] owner, it was decided to use our emergency powers under section 78 of the building Act 1984 to take such action as necessary and reasonable to remove this potential danger.

"A temporary highway closure was put in place by East Sussex Highways to provide protection to the public whilst the situation could be further reviewed with a private contractor engaged by the East Sussex Building Control Partnership. Giving consideration to the listed status of the building, local businesses and lack of access, temporary support will be provided in the afternoon of March 21 from the exterior only. This will need to extend onto the public highway. This will involve partial closure of the road and traffic management, but will enable local businesses to stay open and also provide access on the opposite pavement for pedestrians. This will temporarily remove any danger to the public however further actions will be required involving repair to provide a permanent solution and remove these restrictions.”