Three houses on fire in Old Main Rd, Bridgewater overnight
Police have revealed three properties north of Hobart were slated to be demolished today, before they were deliberately lit on fire last night. SEE THE DESTRUCTION >>
Tasmania
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tasmania. Followed categories will be added to My News.
LATEST, 2.23PM: THE demolition of three houses which would make way for the new Bridgewater bridge has been put on hold after a suspected arson attack.
Police are investigating three structure fires at 32, 34 and 36 Old Main Rd, Bridgewater at around 10pm last night.
The properties were slated for demolition today, to make way for the contentious new Bridgewater Bridge.
Detective First Class Constable Anthony Marr said police have no suspects, however they do believe the crimes were deliberate.
Initial investigations indicate the suspects forced entry via the rear of each property prior to lighting the fires, he said.
“Number 32, 34, and 36 were all listed for demolition this morning, we’ve had to conduct our investigations and that destruction has been put on hold momentarily.
“Police are calling for witnesses who may have seen or heart anything suspicious in the area around about 10pm last night.”
Det Marr described the fires as “very serious”, but said police do not believe the fires are related to any opposition of the bridge.
“We believe that are three fires are linked and are obviously keeping an open mind with our investigations,” he said.
EARLIER, 10.37AM: THREE properties set to be demolished to make way for the new Bridgewater Bridge were set alight overnight.
Fire crews were called to fires in the three properties on Old Main Rd, Bridgewater overnight.
In May a state government department had lodged plans to demolish the houses, which was at the time labelled a “concerning” move, amid the ongoing uncertainty around the project.
Costs for the contentious bridge had blown out from $150m in the early 2000s, up to $576 million at last estimate.
The State Growth Department had lodged planning applications with Brighton Council for demolition of houses, which were acquired by the Crown in 2013 and 2014.
Glenorchy Mayor Kristie Johnston said at the time she was concerned about the future of the project, particularly in terms of what the final design would look like, the cost and “making sure our community gets the best bang for their buck.”
“Given Infrastructure Australia’s clear concern with the engineering design of the bridge, I am concerned there appears to be an intention to proceed with demolition of impacted properties without having completed the geotechnical studies to understand if it is even technically possible to build it,” Cr Johnston said at the time.
A Tasmania Fire Service statement said crews from Bridgewater, Glenorchy attended the three vacant properties.
A firewatch was placed on the scene overnight.
More to come...
Originally published as Three houses on fire in Old Main Rd, Bridgewater overnight