42 Station Road
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Client
Clarion Housing Group
Site
42 Station Road, Colliers Wood. Formerly the Eddie Catz soft play centre
Duration
4 months
Services Used
demolition and clearance of the Site
In 2022, Merton Council set ambitious new house building targets to provide 400 new affordable homes by 2026, identifying a number of sites across the London Borough ripe for residential development.
One such site was 42 Station Road in Colliers Wood – known locally as the Former Eddie Catz Building. Left vacant by the children’s recreation centre upon their closure, the building had since been utilised by charitable organisations including a bike repair workshop and storage facility for furniture recycling. The Site is located within the Colliers Wood District Centre which has been allocated as an Opportunity Area within the Mayor’s London Plan 2021.
Purchased by Clarion Housing Group, with the intention of moving residents here from their Eastfields Estate in Mitcham, the site forms a vital part of its Merton Estates regeneration programme.
The development proposals involved the demolition and clearance of the Site and construction of two high quality buildings that will serve to enhance the immediate setting of the public realm and the River Wandle and compliment the wider townscape environment, delivering 98 new residential units across 2no. blocks.
Goody Demolition were engaged by Rund Consultancy (working on behalf of Clarion Housing Group) to compete in a highly competitive multi-stage tender process for procurement of the demolition and enabling works at 42 Station Road, Colliers Wood. Formerly the Eddie Catz soft play centre, the building has fallen into disuse and, being in a prime location for development, was earmarked for demolition.
Following successful completion of pre-qualification and capability assessments elements, and submitting the Most Economically Advantageous Tender GDL were awarded the Contract.
Our scope of works included: production of documentation to satisfy planning conditions, local authority requirements and environmental obligations; assuming the role of Principal Contractor for the Works; Design, installation and maintenance of hoarding systems to secure the site; service isolations and disconnections; removal of non-native invasive species (Japanese Knotweed) from various locations across the site in collaboration with specialist subcontractor; archaeological works in conjunction with specialists; general vegetation clearance; asbestos removal; soft strip and preparatory works; structural demolition of all existing superstructures and substructures and leaving the site clear and level ready for future development.
Early investigative works found significant volumes of Japanese Knotweed across the development site. This perennial weed (a non-native invasive species) had been allowed to grow and mature around the buildings and had become a concern for development. As such, GDL worked with specialists to locate, isolate, remove and treat the weed, undertaking an excavation strategy followed by heavy application of environmentally friendly herbicide solutions.
Due to the proximity of the watercourse, works had to be carefully designed to prevent damage to the riverbanks and stop any migration of particulate matter or run-off into the water. Engineers and ecologists were engaged from early on in the mobilisation phase, with methods tailored to and informed by their input. HVO fuel was used and shoring/strengthening measures were applied to the banks.
The road to the South East of the site was the main access road to the adjacent Sainsbury’s superstore, and as such had to remain open throughout the works with minimal disruption to it’s operations. A sign situated on our site boundary necessitated the use of manual demolition techniques (removal of bricks by hand) to not disturb this fixture, and our demolition curtain was deployed to supplement the hoarding and fencing in preventing migration of arisings.
Archaeological investigations early in the project revealed that a Victorian sewer ran underneath the site. GDL worked with engineers and specialists to amend our working methods to prevent collapse and preserve as required.
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