City council headquarters evacuated after fire.
A fire in a clock tower forced the evacuation of the municipal hall.
At 07:53 BST, the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service was called to Norwich City Hall on St Peters Street.
Crews from Carrow and Earlham deployed drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras to search for hot spots while fighting the fire.
Norwich City Council, which is located in the building, stated that the “small electrical fire” looked to have begun in a clock tower motor. “We are grateful to our fire service colleagues for their prompt response,” it said in a statement.
Staff had been evacuated, but were able to return to their desks around 08:45.
Peeling gold gilding
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council has spent more than £10,000 on clock tower maintenance and repair over the last five years. Specialist experts overhauled the clock tower’s electrical motor in July.
It had a £200,000 renovation eight years ago, but the gold gilding began peeling in January of this year, prompting criticism. In 2019, the clock was suspended for 12 days to repair its gears, and in 2021, it failed repeatedly.
Problems happened again in October 2023, when the clocks changed for winter daylight saving time, leading the display to only show midday or midnight.
The timekeeper also took a three-month hiatus in 2017 to allow for tower renovations at City Hall.
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