Alberton House off Bridge Street was being demolished but part of it collapsed this afternoon, with scaffolding crashing into the River IrwellDrone pictures from the scene in Manchester of a scaffolding collapse.(Image: Mancpicss66)

A major developer has issued a statement saying there was ‘no risk’ to the public or workers despite the partial collapse of building in Manchester city centre this afternoon.

The building, Alberton House off Bridge Street, had been scheduled for demolition. Part of it collapsed this afternoon (Friday) with scaffolding sent crashing into the River Irwell.

One person who works nearby said there was a ‘strong earthquake like feeling’. Another witness added: “We were shaking and we didn’t know if the building was coming down, then we saw the plumes of dust.”

George Jones, founder and owner of Cardinal House next door to the collapsed building, told the M.E.N: “We’ve had to evacuate, about 500 people have had to go for the day, I’ve got multiple businesses in here. We were aware of the renovations for sometime, but never been told that we would be in fear of safety or need to evacuate.

“It felt and sounded like an earthquake. People have left because they don’t feel safe. When we went around afterwards to speak to the workmen and they told us to evacuate the building. The scaffolding fell in the river and building was moving.

“I bought his building and turned it into a business centre a couple of years ago. When I went outside it looked like all smoke.”

Tonight the developers Bruntwood SciTech released a statement confirming there had been a partial collapse but insisting there was ‘no risk’ to workers on site or the general public.

The scaffolding fell away from the building(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)

The statement said: “We can confirm that this afternoon there was a partial collapse at Alberton House, which is currently undergoing a full demolition. While we appreciate the noise this generated may have caused some alarm, on a site of this complexity all eventualities are planned for meaning we were able to follow agreed safety protocols.

“As such, there was no risk to the on-site team, neighbouring buildings or the general public. Contractors PP O’Connor remain on site and work will continue as planned.”

Manchester city council gave planning approval for the ambitious redevelopment in 2022 with work scheduled to start the following year. But in June planners approved an amendment to the original plan to allow it to be delivered in two phases instead of one, first to demolish the current structure before later ‘enabling works’.

“This will help to de-risk and accelerate delivery of the approved development and the intention would be for those works to commence in a 12-month period,” said the report that went to the planning committee.

The application which went to planners in June warned of unfavourable ‘market conditions’ and that the developers had only recently learned the land was subject to ‘restrictive covenants’ which would ‘preclude delivery of parts of the approved landscaping scheme at this time’.