During the demolition phase, we created and implemented a robust logistics regime which ensured the impact on neighbouring parties was minimal and the safety of all stakeholders was maintained.
Dedicated traffic marshals were employed to manage access and egress, controlling traffic and pedestrian movements to ensure site-safety.
As the project was located in such an exclusive area of London, we considered it of the utmost importance to foster good relations with surrounding businesses and residents. We achieved this by maintaining consistent liaison with all stakeholders, publishing newsletters, ensuring the blue-route on Winsland Mews remained open throughout the works and ensuring working hours and breaking times were in-line with the voluntary section 61 notice applied for by Erith prior to the commencement of any noisy works.
The sites were located in London’s Paddington and the three Royal Mail Group buildings to be demolished – the sorting offices located at 31 London Street (two structures), and the former Post Office at 128-142 Praed Street – were in close proximity to other structures.
All three buildings were demolished using a controlled top-down methodology, where excavators were craned onto the roof to carry out the slabs and walls demolition in reverse order down to ground floor slab level. All buildings were encapsulated with fully independent scaffold for the protection of the public, clad in fire-retardant monarflex.
This multi-million-pound project was awarded as a result of several factors, including our outstanding performance during the demolition phase of the works and our excellent track record of undertaking substructure packages throughout the Capital in high-risk environments. The works at Paddington Square comprise pile enabling, secant walls and bearing piles, temporary works to facilitate a bulk excavation and a hybrid top-down-bottom-up construction of the new London Road and multi-level retail basement, adjacent to and incorporating the new entrance of Paddington station ticket hall.
We carried out the demolition of the 2m thick basement raft slab, adjacent to both Royal Mail Group and Crossrail shafts, with particular consideration to the adjacent Bakerloo Line pedestrian tunnel that runs beneath London Street.
Arisings from the demolition phase were crushed into 6F2 material to minimise vehicular movements and were stockpiled for reuse as engineered fill for working pile platforms.
Throughout the process, we have been in constant dialog with St Marys Hospital, Royal Mail Group, Network Rail, London Underground and Westminster City Council to ensure smooth delivery and constant cooperation whilst completing the works.
The following activities will be carried out prior to handover to the Main Contractor for the next phase of the development:
• Remaining basement demolition
• Capping off of vertical shafts
• Piling, temporary works and dig
• Top-down-bottom-up hybrid basement construction
