Yesterday a fog of debris descended upon Magdalen Street as the Anglia Square car park was destroyed by contractors.

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Shops including Roys and Mercury Communications were forced to close as the street was completely shrouded in dust.

Leroy Barrett, 55, who runs Mercury Communications which is opposite the demolition site has said: "It was a total white out.

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"A plume came straight over and engulfed us.

"It blew open the flaps on my shop door. I could not stay, I had to leave.

"My eyes were burning and my throat was sore.

A thick fog was covering the street (Image: Submitted)

"It looked like an explosion.

"I do not think it is safe."

Others have described a metallic taste as they walk near the former 1960s shopping centre which is being torn down to be redeveloped.

Dust has been causing worrying business owners on the street (Image: Submitted)

Water is being sprayed by DSM - the contractors leading the demolition - in an effort to minimise dust being created from the work.  

Dust can be seen in the street near the site (Image: Jack Warren)

And a spokesman from Norwich City Council, which is leading the redevelopment project, previously said the contractor is “implementing all practical measures on site to address dust by damping down surfaces and using various suppression systems to mitigate the dust generated by the demolition activities”.

Dust on the pavement on Magdalen Street (Image: Jack Warren)

In its day, the original Anglia Square project of the 1960s was a forward-thinking example of city planning.

Sovereign House was built for Her Majesty's Stationery Office in the late 1960s, and a cinema and multi-storey car park - the beginning of Anglia Square - followed in 1970. 

Dust has covered cars in the street (Image: Jack Warren)

In 2023 a scheme to regenerate the site and build 1,100 homes was approved by Norwich City Council in a narrow vote at the end of an eight-hour meeting.

Developer Weston Homes, with investment firm Columbia Threadneedle, applied to demolish the brutalist shopping centre, along with the neighbouring Sovereign House and Gildengate House.

Anglia Square Norwich in 1989 (Image: Newsquest)

But the scheme faltered after Weston Homes axed its plans due to financial issues.

An aerial view of the demolitions (Image: Wayne Stuart)

© Norwich Evening News