Stone Alleyne's Academy Swimming Pool & Sports Centre Demolition

1. Site establishment — erecting Heras fencing exclusion zones, welfare facilities and site signage

2. Plant delivery — 22-tonne excavator, scissor lift, telehandler and all attachments delivered to site

3. Soft strip — removal of doors, ceilings, false walls and all fittings that could contaminate demolition arisings

4. Dust suppression setup — petrol-powered jet wash with IBC bowser and directional high-pressure lance

5. Mechanical demolition — steel-framed pool building brought down in a controlled top-down sequence

6. Slab grubbing — systematic breaking of foundations, backfilling the vacant pool void to near car park level

7. Site clearance and handover — final inspection with client representatives confirming site ready for handover

– The site manager physically marked out the complete perimeter of the pool

– Chapter 8 interlocking traffic management barriers were deployed around the entire pool edge

– Clear LEADING EDGE — KEEP CLEAR signage was erected at all points

– Hardcore from the demolished office buildings and boiler room was used to backfill the pool void, raising the working floor to match the surrounding deck level and allowing MEWPs to manoeuvre safely

– A dedicated toolbox talk was delivered to the entire site team, specifically addressing the pool edge risk and barrier management protocols

– Any movement of Chapter 8 barriers — to allow plant or MEWPs into the pool area — was controlled by a named operative, and barriers were closed immediately after access was granted

– Where the pool depth was insufficient using on-site arisings, additional hardcore was imported to ensure a consistently safe and stable working surface

– Demolition commenced on the east elevation, closest to the skip compound, working in a westerly direction bay by bay

– Each purlin and A-frame was sheared individually, preserving the structural integrity of the remaining bays as work progressed

– The last bay — adjacent to the retained flat-roofed changing rooms — was left standing until all earlier bays were fully demolished

– Before the final bay was demolished, broken glazing was removed by hand from beneath the steel and 8×4 ply sheets were placed on the flat roof to protect against debris fall

– Steel stanchions were removed using the telehandler under LOLER-compliant lifting arrangements: straps wrapped around each stanchion, forks raised above, the shear cutting flush with flat roof level while the telehandler controlled the descent onto the deck

– All steel was cut to fit 40-yard RORO scrap bins, exchanged on a rolling basis throughout the works

– At the end of each working day, the excavator operator confirmed no partially sheared or unstable material was left hanging from the remaining structure

– Hardcore previously placed into the pool void was extracted and stockpiled clear of the building footprint

– The pecker attachment worked in a systematic 1-metre-apart grid pattern across both the pool surround walkways and the pool base

– The slab around the pool was taken down 200–300mm, with a further 600mm removed against the pool walls to ensure adequate drainage paths

– The pool base slab was left in situ — only the perimeter and wall sections were broken

– All arisings were consolidated and used to backfill the vacant pool void, with the hardcore level brought just short of the surrounding car park level

– Topsoil was laid over the compacted hardcore to provide a clean, level surface finish for handover

– Section 80 Notice issued to the local authority by the client prior to commencement

– All works in full accordance with BS6187:2011, CDM 2015 and PUWER 1998

– Daily plant pre-use inspections documented throughout

– Emergency hospital route pre-planned: Royal Stoke University Hospital, Newcastle Road, ST4 6QG (01782 715444)