A large and complex city centre demolition contract involving the demolition of multiple building types using various methods in Wandsworth Town in south London for St George (part of the Berkeley Homes group).

The site was cut in half by the River Wandle, with phase-1 on the east side of the river and phases 2 and 3 on the west side of the river.

The buildings in phase-1 consisted of brick-built structures with timber and slate roofs, with the phase 2 and 3 buildings being brick construction with asbestos cement roofing, reinforced concrete and brick infill panels, and an assortment of shed-style buildings of steel and brick construction.

The Wandsworth Plain building was to remain undamaged during the works as it is a listed building and the former headquarters for the Olympic committee and had previously received funding from the Lottery foundation for it’s refurbishment.

Site overview video:

We were appointed as the demolition consultants for the project.

We first carried out a feasibility study for the project outlining the demolition methods and the pros and cons of each method, and our recommendations for each building.

We checked the content of the Pre-Construction Information (PCI) documents supplied by the Principal Designer and offered feedback on the documents, and assisted in their development before distributing them to the contractors.

We then created a set of demolition-specific Designer Key Hazards to help the demolition contractor identify any uncommon issues with the contract.

We attended the pre-appointment meetings with the client and provided feedback on the tendering contractors to rank the bidders based solely on the quality of the submissions to ensure the best contractor was selected.

A further high-risk package review meeting was carried out with the successful contractor prior to the pre-start meeting. The meeting involved both the contractor and the client to further focus on the specifics of the site.

Once the contractor’s Construction Phase Plan (CPP) was completed, we were tasked with reviewing the plan and the Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS) for the project and continually commenting on the revisions and updates of both sets of documents.

Throughout the works, we carried out monthly audits, which were planned to coincide with the specific phases of the project, which included CDM compliance audit, and process-specific demolition audits.

• Carry out a feasibility study
• Assist in the development of the demolition specification
• Produce the Pre-Construction Information.
• Produce the demolition-specific Designer Key Hazards.
• Carry out a Pre-Demolition BREEAM survey.
• Carry out a consultation on the tender list.
• Attend the bid meetings and provide feedback on the submissions.
• Review and comment on the Construction Phase Plan and issue a report.
• Review and comment on the Risk Assessments and Method Statement and issue a report.
• Review and comment on the asbestos Plan of Works and issue a report.
• Carry out the pre-start site CDM audit and issue a report.
• Carry out monthly site audits and issue a report on the progress.
• Carry out the completion site audit and issue a report.