Part of King Street in Oldham remains closed four months after a building collapsed, with work on a neighbouring property now causing a delay to its reopening.

The building at 31 King Street collapsed in March, injuring five people. Bricks, roof tiles and the contents of a rented apartment fell onto the street. The structure has since been demolished, but barriers are still in place because of safety issues with the adjacent property at 29 King Street.

Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton MP Jim McMahon has criticised the continued closure. He said: "Everyone understands that public safety must come first, but four months on local people are rightly questioning what's going on." He asked why progress was taking so long and said the situation was impacting businesses and commuters.

The collapsed building was owned by KKS Investors, which includes councillor Kamran Ghafoor and Sameer Zulqurnain. Coun Ghafoor said his company had fully complied with requests from Oldham Council and investigators. He said the delay now rests with the owner of 29 King Street, who has not signed necessary Party Wall Act documentation.

Coun Ghafoor stated: "We have also offered mediation and invited the owner of number 29 to sit down with us to discuss the issues and find a way forward, but unfortunately that offer has not been taken up." The Local Democracy Reporting Service attempted to contact the owner of 29 King Street for comment but did not receive a response.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the cause of the March collapse is ongoing.

A spokesperson for Oldham Council said: "The council continues to put pressure and chase the owners of the buildings on King Street and their representatives." They added: "A key priority is resolving the insurance and liability issues that have delayed progress." The council said it was using its powers to require action where necessary.