Case studies
Project Overview
General Demolition was challenged with the extensive demolition of 150,000 sq ft of commercial buildings at the former Glaxo Smith Kline pharmaceuticals facility at Powder Mill Lane, Tonbridge. With so many factors to consider, this project in particular proved to be a technologically challenging job for General Demolition, mainly due to the nature of the site and its previous use.
With Ashill Group’s detailed planning application for 73 new homes approved, General Demolition set about demolishing the 22 buildings on site to slab level. 8 excavators were used during the demolition process including the use of a 30 metre long reach machine.
Neighbourhood liaison
As always, a project of this magnitude required General Demolition to be mindful of the local residents. To keep disruption to a minimum General Demolition avoided using the residential roads surrounding the site and instead opted to open up 2 new access points to the side.
During our works, the nearby River Medway burst on Christmas Eve its banks causing severe flooding in the Tonbridge area and devastating many of the local homes and business. The majority of the local roads were inaccessible and a number of residents near the Powder Mill site were cut off.
In keeping with the Considerate Contractor ethos, General Demolition opened up the site on Christmas Day to give local residents access through the site allowing them to utilise the 2 new access points that had been created.
Despite acts of nature and the intricacies involved in the project General Demolition completed the job within the clients deadline.