A burnt out hair salon – destroyed by a fire earlier this year – will be demolished after the owner was told it is impossible to rebuild over or near public sewers.
Anglian Water told the owner of the Tangled Up hair salon in High Street, March that it will not allow any development of the site because of the drainage beneath it.
The Edgoose family that own the building originally hoped to replace it but have now submitted proposals for it to be demolished.
Permission is needed because it is within the conservation area of the town and the family promises the site will be levelled and low level ornamental planting may follow.
“Unfortunately the building has suffered extensive fire damage rendering it beyond repair,” the family’s agents told Fenland Council planners.
It is “structurally compromised” they said, leaving no option but to remove what’s left and apply for permission to demolish it.
Just days after celebrating her fourth anniversary of opening her Tangled Up salon in High Street, March, it was gutted by fire.
Dozens of friends and family members rallied to help salon owner Charlotte Stonier after realising she had no contents insurance to cover her losses.
More than £800 was raised in a matter of days after a GoFundMe page was set up her older sister Amy Louise.
Amy said: “The salon is completely destroyed and at present unsafe to enter. All of her belongings as well as salon things were in there. “This is her world, her business that she built up for the last four years.
“She has lost everything, including her qualification certificates; make up, hair tools, her business and her confidence.”
In an emotional Facebook post after the fire, Charlotte wrote: “It’s the end of an era. My baby for four years, my beautiful salon, my livelihood, is now gone…. within a matter of hours.”
Police said they treated the fire as “suspicious”.
Their spokesman said: “We were contacted by a member of the public who gave information which suggests the fire may not have been accidental.
“A crime has been raised for arson and an investigation is being carried out.”
That view was shared by a neighbour who said she woke at 4.30am “to a hell of a lot of noise outside my house and lots of blue flashing lights.
“I clambered out of bed threw my dressing gown on and ran downstairs threw open my front door to see firefighters and police everywhere and a very lovely lady I’ve known since my school days stood there absolutely distraught.
“Her business she’s worked so hard for ruined”; her social media post suggested two people were involved.
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