Demolition of Heatwaves Leisure Centre
| During a four month contract, J Freeley Ltd were contracted to demolish the Heatwaves Leisure Centre at Stockbridge Village in Huyton and prepare the site in readiness for the building of a new primary school.The leisure centre’s imposing mast in fact meant that detailed preparation had to take place before demolition began. As part of the roof loading was supported from the central mast, the dismantling had to be undertaken one bay at a time, working equally from each end to maintain equilibrium of the central three bays of the building, to avoid premature collapse. J Freeley used a telescopic crane to crane off the mast in sections and then lower to the ground. J Freeley Ltd worked closely with specialist civil and structural engineers Thomasons at the planning stage to agree the sequence of demolition.The demolition programme for the Leisure Centre was designed to minimise the amount of working at height, with most of the work being undertaken by the use of a rotating sheer mounted on a 50 tonne Kobelco excavator. Safe access for the work at height was provided by using a 58 metre truck-mounted Skylift platform
J Freeley Ltd were appointed by Knowsley Council to carry out the project following a competitive tender. Environmental considerations and minimum disruption to residents surrounding the site were the two concerns that drove the demolition project forward. “Knowsley Council has a strong reputation for maintaining and improving its environmental performance and it was important this was reflected in this demolition contract. The recycling aspects of the contract were an important part of the tendering process.” More than 6,000 tonnes of concrete and masonry was generated during the demolition. This was crushed and processed on site by using a Finley J1175 crusher to produce 6F2 grade recycled aggregate. A rigorous testing regime was in operation during the concrete crushing which involved daily lab testing of the recycled aggregate to ensure it conformed to both DOT specification and WRAP Protocol. J Freeley used 20 and 30 tonne excavators with a range of attachments for sorting and loading the material. This was then used for filling the substantial underground voids and foundation spaces and to prepare the site for redevelopment. “This significantly reduced the amount of construction traffic that would have been needed to take this material off site. It also meant that construction vehicle movements will be minimised when the redevelopment work takes place,” “Controls put into place by J Freeley ensured that dust and noise nuisance to nearby residents was kept to an absolute minimum during the demolition. In terms of completing the project on time, within budget and with little disruption, the contractor’s performance was extremely good.” The rebirth of Stockbridge Village will eventually see a swimming pool, nursery, sports hall and a community hub as well as the school being built on the site. |
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