Rhodar has won the demolition project of three 18 storey tower blocks that have stood empty for over 10 years. Appointed by Together Housing Group as part of plans to regenerate a key area of Halifax in Calderdale, Rhodar will help clear the Beech Hill estate site, which is currently occupied by Cobden Court, Blenheim Court and Westbrook Court.
Scheduled to work on the internal strip out and subsequent top down deconstruction of the tower blocks are up to 80 Rhodar operatives, along with a 65-metre super high reach excavator, of which only a handful exist in the UK. The excavator will remove approximately 10 storeys from each block, allowing further high reach kit to demolish the remaining structures.
“This is an important milestone for our business as it will be the first major enabling works package we have undertaken since our corporate rebrand last month, and it’s extremely rewarding for our teams to be working on such a prestigious and high-profile regeneration scheme,” said Jason Davy, managing director at Rhodar.
On hand to process site materials will be four excavators ranging from 21 to 40 tonnes. The existing concrete and rubble will be recycled on site into a specific engineered fill material that will then be used to create a development platform for the next level of regeneration. This will contribute to a significantly reduced carbon footprint for the project by minimising vehicle movements in and around the project area.
The regeneration of Beech Hill is part of the Calderdale Together Investment Partnership, a partnership between Together Housing and Calderdale Council, which aims to deliver 500 affordable homes over the next five years, including new homes at the Beech Hill site, as well at other sites across Calderdale.
“I, like many people in Halifax, will be delighted to see new, affordable homes replace these outdated tower blocks. This is part of our commitment to address the housing crisis in West Yorkshire where the average home is now seven times the average salary,” commented George Paterson, group director of Property Services at Together Housing Group.
The site clearance is expected to take 64 weeks, with main demolition work starting in January 2019.
