Leicester City Council has brought in a professional contractor to take over an unauthorised demolition site.
It has appointed AR Demolition, based in west Leicestershire, to knock down the former factory in Kings Newton Street, Highfields.
The council said no planning permission had been granted to originally demolish the building or redevelop the site - the last planning permission granted by Leicester City Council in relation to the factory was in 1986. It said it was now using its statutory powers to complete the work safely.
A spokeswoman for the council previously said: "Demolition of the building does require prior approval – the owners must notify us that they wish to demolish the building and we check the details of how they want to do it. There have been no applications for this either."
After deciding the remaining parts of the building were unsafe, the council has brought in the professional contractor to finish the job while the Health and Safety Executive investigates potential breaches regarding the previous work.
The spokeswoman said the site landlord would foot the eventual bill rather than the taxpayer.
They said: “We have been working closely with the HSE to address significant safety concerns about the demolition works being undertaken by the landlord on this site.
“A prohibition notice was served on the landlord by the HSE which was not responded to in a way that demonstrated improvements would be made, and this left the building unsafe and with no plan in place to progress the demolition.
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“After an independent structural survey found the site to be wholly unsafe, we have used our statutory powers to serve notices on the landlord and to fully demolish the former factory. The contractors are now in the process of clearing the debris.
"We are working with any neighbours affected by this and the contractors will ensure that any work needed to repair damage caused by the demolition is carried out before they leave. The boundary walls are being assessed for stability and will either be reduced to a safe height or removed.
"Where removed, we will provide secure fencing as a barrier. Once we are satisfied, the site will be secured and handed back to the owner who will be responsible for following the correct steps for any future development of the site.
“The council will be recovering the full costs of this work from the landlord and supporting the HSE to ensure it can continue with its investigation into the legislative breaches that occurred.”
An HSE spokesperson said: “HSE has issued enforcement notices due to concerns regarding demolition work at the site. We recognise the importance of reassuring the community.
“We are therefore working closely with the City Council who are taking the lead on liaising with the community and addressing the ongoing risk relating to the structural safety of the building.”
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