EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Take a look at the eerie remains of two fire-ravaged former nightclubs in Northampton town centre

Chronicle and Echo, alongside Historic England, was invited to take a look inside the former Fat Cats and Balloon Bar buildings in Bridge Street on Thursday (June 20).

What we saw is the eerie remains of what used to be two popular venues in the town’s night time economy.

The owner of the buildings has said progress is being made in the background to sort the mess out and get Bridge Street back open. More details will be published soon, the owner added.

Stuart Timmiss, the council’s executive director for place and economy, said: “As a council we are working incredibly hard to resolve the issues resulting from the Bridge Street fires as soon as possible, and we will update everyone as soon as we have further news.”

The former Angel Hotel building – encompassing Fat Cats Cafe Bar and Balloon Bar – has been a blight on Bridge Street since a huge fire in January 2012, which was accidentally started by a roofer's torch.The Fat Cats part of the building, built in 1814-16, has been held up by eyesore scaffolding ever since.Following the 2012 blaze, Fat Cats never opened again but Balloon Bar reopened in July 2013, later closing down for good in 2019.In 2016 AZ Investments purchased the stricken property and planning permission to redevelop the building was granted in September 2019 to build a 60-room hotel over part of the ground floor and across the three upper floors.That plan never came to fruition and in 2022 / 2023 a fresh application was put to the council by A Z Investments to part-demolish and convert the Grade II listed building into 43 flats with the front facade to be retained and repaired. These plans were later approved by the council's planning committee.On the evening of August 22 2023, the derelict building once again went up in flames. This time it was Balloon Bar that was on fire.A cause of the fire was never found, according to Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue.On May 31 2024 firefighters were once again called to the site to find Fat Cats on fire again with seven crews needed to tackle the blaze.On June 4 Northamptonshire Police launched an arson investigation in connection with the third blaze with firefighters saying it is 'believed the most likely cause was deliberate ignition'.The owner believes the building was often frequented by homeless people, despite their best efforts to keep the building secure.Legal proceedings - ahead of proposed demolition - continue whilst Bridge Street remains closed to traffic.