43
d
&
ri
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2015
IN ACTION
Foundry demolition
allows Bolton
regeneration
M
anchester,UK, based J Freeley
has completed thedemolitionof
a 2,970m
2
(32,000 ft
2
) derelict
structure calledTheWharf Foundry in
Bolton,GreaterManchester tomakeway for
a £210million (US$330million)mixeduse
redevelopment known asChurchWharf. The
foundry, built in1873, had lainderelict since
the 1980s andhadbecome a victimof break-
ins and theft. In addition, partial collapse of
the roof had left thebuilding in adangerous
condition.
Freeley liaised closelywith the
EnvironmentAgency to agree a safeworking
strategy for dismantling thebuilding, which
ran alongside theRiverCroal.One of the
wallswas next to a riverside footpath, which
was closed to thepublicduring thedemolition
work. Aswell as demolition, Freeley removed
asbestos from the site,made good retained
partywalls to adjacent buildings, capped
boundarywalls, installednew fencing and
carriedout drainage and tree clearanceworks.
Voids andpits on the sitewere backfilled
with crushedmasonry from thedemolition
arisings.
Most of thedemolitionduring the 14-week
projectwas carriedoutmechanically, but
Freeley’s operativeswere required to carryout
sensitivedismantlingbyhandof partially-
collapsed areas near other buildingswith
work at height being carriedout from a
mobile elevatingworkplatform (MEWP).
Collier goes for Volvo
Volvo has delivered two 32 tonne L220Hwheeled loaders to Scottish operation Collier
Quarrying &Recycling for use in rehandling tasks at the latter’s Goat Hill Quarry in
Cowdenbeath, Fife. Themachines are in charge of the stocking out area where high
quality Plus 65 PSV stone chippings are loaded out on both the company’s fleet of Volvo
road lorries as well as general haulage, distributingmaterial as far afield as theMidlands
in England. Collier produces the Plus 65 PSV product as well as recycled Type 1 and
Class 6F2materials. In addition, the company produces sub and top soils along with bulk
infill materials. The Goat Hill facility houses a recycling centre that can accommodate
inert construction waste, such as road plannings, demolition waste, soils and sub base
materials.
The companydeployed aHyundai
R220LC-9A, aKomatsuPC210 and aCase
CX130, in addition to theHaulotteHA20PX
self-propelledboom lift. The excavators
madeuseof shears, crushers and selector
grabs during thedemolition andprocessing
ofmaterial.During theproject, 250 tonnes of
cast iron and steelwere removed from the site
for recycling.
■
The filter galleries at the top of Sellafield’s last of
twoWindscale Piles ventilation stacks have been
removed prior to the 110m (361 ft) chimney’s final
demolition, duringwhichmore than 5,000 tonnes
of concrete, steel and brickwill be dismantled,
checked for radioactive contamination and
disposed of. The two pileswere built to provide
the UK governmentwith the plutonium required
for its initial nuclear deterrent. Fortunately the
high performance galleries (known locally as
‘Cockcroft’s Follies’) installed on top of both stacks
at the insistence of Sir John Cockcroft after they
had been designed and partially built prevented a
major nuclear accidentwhen Pile 1 caught fire in
1957 and threatenedmuch of the north of England
with contamination.
