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Traders want site rebuilt three years on from fire

Tony Fisherin Baldock
Tony Fisher/BBC A man with stubble and short hair wears a polo top and is looking into the camera. Behind him there is grey hoarding on an industrial site. There is a red car in the background parked by a brick building with small chimneys coming out of the side.Tony Fisher/BBC
Craig Ross, who had an engineering business on the Baldock Industrial estate, said he cannot understand why it is taking so long to demolish the site

Three years ago today a massive fire ripped through an industrial estate destroying more than 40 business units.

The blaze on 11 July 2023 at the Baldock Industrial Estate, Hertfordshire, was likely to be have been started accidentally by burning of plastic waste at the Stair Company in units 24 – 42.

Owners want to see the buildings demolished so the units can be rebuilt and their businesses can return to the site.

North Herts Council told the BBC that responsibility for any demolition work lies with contractors Gately Smithers Purslow.

The company, which specialises in building surveying and structural engineering, declined to comment.

In June 2025 the council granted planning permission to rebuild the estate on the condition work began by June 2028.

Tony Fisher/BBC An aerial view of an industrial estate which has been destroyed by fire. Crumpled roofing and loose bricks sit on top of a rectangular structure which is surrounded by hoardings. There are intact buildings outside of the hoardings on the edge. A corrugated roof is in the foreground.Tony Fisher/BBC
Business owners say that no progress has been made to clear the site of the fire in Baldock three years ago

Craig Ross, 41, who ran an engineering business on the site, said it was "heartbreaking" that it had not yet been demolished and rebuilt.

He said the estate, which has 17 different private owners, cannot be surveyed as it is too dangerous and no one was allowed in.

"I don't believe the council is doing enough to support the owners to get the buildings pulled down and made safe" he added.

However he said that "trying to get 17 different people to agree on the same thing is near on impossible".

He has relocated his business to Stevenage but he hopes to move it back to Baldock so he can get his passing trade back.

Tony Fisher/BBC A man with grey hair and wearing a blue shirt with a logo on it stands outside an MG car showroom which is called Brown & Gammons. The large window behind him reflects some cars parked outside.Tony Fisher/BBC
Malcolm Gammons said his family run car dealership had the single biggest unit on the site

Malcolm Gammons, 59, said his family run business lost "millions" of pounds in the fire three years ago but "it was difficult to quantify (the amount) fully".

The MD of Brown and Gammons, which was founded by his father in 1977, operates an MG car dealership on the high street in Baldock.

He said they had the biggest single unit on the industrial estate where they stored a range of parts for cars over the past 25 years.

"Most of what I had in there I cannot replace," he added.

He described dealing with the aftermath of the blaze as "tough" and "the hardest thing I have had to deal with".

"Baldock is a strong little town which has lost fifty percent of its industrial area but it is going to come back - hopefully soon," he said.

Tony Fisher/BBC Grey hoardings and a black gate in front of a derelict building which has vegetation growing outside it. Windows are smashed and an entrance is boarded up with plywood. There are signs on the grey hoardings which read "Danger - keep out".Tony Fisher/BBC
Gammons said he would like to see the buildings come down as soon as possible and have units back up but there were a few hurdles to get over

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