Hatfield Town Centre
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- PROFESSIONALISM
- COMMUNICATION
- CO-OPERATION
- EDUCATION
- COMPETITIVENESS
Client
Welwyn & Hatfield Borough Council
Site
Hatfield Town Centre, Hatfield
Duration
3 months
Services Used
Demolition
The works at 3-9 Town Centre Hatfield form part of a wider regeneration project being undertaken by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, coordinated by a group of stakeholders (The Hatfield Renewal Partnership) to redevelop the town centre and create a town that re-balances economic growth and world class education assets with new and rejuvenated housing. Excellent community, culture, retail and leisure facilities and a series of connected urban centres.
One Town Centre, adjacent to our works, is encompassed within the plans, and aims to breathe new life into that end of the High Street, which is already well-connected by road, cycle paths and pedestrian routes to the business park and train station.
Planning permission has recently been granted for the construction of 71 residential flats at the 1-9 Town Centre site, with 38 of these proposed as affordable, council owned properties. Construction of the homes is set to be completed by early 2023.
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council were seeking to appoint a specialist competent contractor, experienced in the field of demolition, to carry out the works in the town centre. Our scope comprised the complete structural demolition of the council-owned 2-storey commercial units along the high street. GDL were to act as principal contractor for the demolition phase of the project, ensuring all works were conducted as per the auspices of CDM 2015.
We were responsible for submitting relevant notices (section 80/81 and notification of asbestos removal), arranging service disconnections, terminations and diversions, all required soft strip of the buildings, asbestos removal, structural demolition down to foundation level and breaking up of existing foundations to a depth of 1.5m. As part of our scope of works we were also required to manage site logistics and traffic, protect and retain surrounding street furniture and adjacent walls, and maintain access to the nearby car park and adjoining businesses, including the Santander Bank and the Queensway Health Clinic.
We registered the site with the Considerate Constructor’s Scheme, achieving a “Good” standard, and completing the project with no complaints from the surrounding community.
Adjacent to our works, and sharing a party wall with the buildings we were demolishing was the Santander Bank, which was to remain operational throughout the demolition. Party wall matters were discussed and dealt with efficiently, and we installed vibration monitors on the party wall to check that the works were not affecting the integrity. To prevent damage, we removed these sections of the buildings by hand, to prevent any damage or vibration transfer through the shared boundary line. There was also a shared Fire Escape between sections of the two buildings, which had to be protected. As such we erected a scaffold tunnel over the shared access, and in conjunction with the manual, by-hand, work at the boundary prevented disruption as well as protecting those passing by underneath.
To the rear of our site was the Kennelwood Lane Car Park, which was used by local businesses, the adjacent Medical Centre and general public. We had to implement a controlled one-way access/egress system onto the site, and scheduled deliveries to avoid busy periods. We also liaised continuously with the community to ensure the disruption was kept to a minimum.
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