Bakery seeks new home after fire

The call outs were not linked and one business has come off considerably worse than the other.

The Cookery Nook in Market Street has been closed since a fire last Wednesday shortly after 5pm.

Having already lost a week’s trade, the bakery hopes to re-open in the former premises of Central Newsagents. However, the cost to get the bakery up and running again could run into thousands.

Owner Mervyn Woods said: “There’s a lot of smoke and water damage and a bit of structural damage. It’s going to take three to six months before we’re back in. A lot of the equipment will need to be replaced.”

The ‘MAIL’ understands the clean up has been postponed to allow assessors to take stock of the cost of the accidental electrical fire, which occurred on the first floor of the three-storey property. Two fire appliances were tasked to deal with the fire.

The closure of The Cookery Nook has had a knock-on effect with reports of new faces and increased trade in other home bakeries in the town.

Mervyn said plans were afoot to re-open the bakery in the vacant unit at Central Newsagents, hopefully on Friday. It’s hoped the new location can offer as many of the facilities as the previous premises however space is restricted.

He thanked customers for their messages of support and their loyalty during this difficult period for the business.

On Thursday, just after 5pm, the fire service responded to a report of an electrical short circuit at Savers, next door to The Cookery Nook.

The short circuit had caused a smell of smoke and electrical shutters to close on the premises. Firefighters were able to deal with the alert in a matter of minutes.