Bramford Road in Ipswich is set to remain closed during Monday morning’s rush-hour while safety engineers continue their inspection of building work at a former pub.

There are fears that the structure of the former Rose and Crown pub, which is now the Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre, may have been damaged during ongoing restoration work and that part of the building could collapse on to Bramford Road.

The top section of the road, near its junction with Norwich Road, was closed on Friday and remained shut all weekend to ensure the safety of the public and construction workers.

A spokesman for Ipswich council said it was due to be inspected again on Monday – but the road would not be reopened until they were satisfied that the building is safe.

The building is being extended and altered for its new use. It closed as a pub in 2011 but had a long history – the first record of there being a tavern on the site dates back to 1618.

However the company carrying out the work insisted there was no danger to the building or to Bramford Road.

Aran Ismail, of Noore Builders, which is building the extension at the centre, said there was no risk of collapse. He said the road closure was in place as a precaution because there was a problem with the building’s underpinning due to its age.

He added: “There’s some damage to the property, it’s too old and we are trying to make it the safest property in Ipswich, and we will do that.”

Mr Ismail also denied rumours that some load bearing materials had been removed from the building by mistake during the renovation work.

A spokesman for the Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Centre declined to comment and said the matter was in the hands of the builders.

A few weeks ago a huge pile of rubbish was spotted at the junction of Norwich Road and Bramford Road.

The Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre confirmed in October that among the pile was largely material stripped from inside the centre and left in the street by workers.

A further statement about the condition of the building and when Bramford Road may reopen is expected to come from Ipswich council on Monday once it has had an update from engineers and health and safety officials.