Connell Brothers have dramatically changed the skyline on the approach to Manchester International Airport with the demolition of Lodge Court, a 9-storey tower block.

Clients, Willow Park Housing Trust, appointed Connell Brothers to demolish the 40 year old block located on Brownley Rd and Hollyhedge Roundabout.

The demolition project is part of Willow Park Housing Trust’s £100 Million plus programme to regenerate the area over the next ten years.

To mark the occasion of letting the largest demolition contract to date, Willow Park Housing Trust arranged a photo shoot with all parties involved. These includedWillow Park’s Management Team, Willow Park Local Residents Group, Manchester City Architects who are supervising the works, and Connell Brothers Demolition Contractors.

Pictured is Sharston Councillor & former Lord Mayor, Hugh Barrett and centre right is Willow Park Housing Trust Chief Executive, Mervyn Jones.

Councillor Hugh Barrett said, "These flats had passed their sell-by date. Demolishing them is a great opportunity to improve the appearance of the area and attract new investment."

Prior to commencement of demolition works the 9-storey structure required decontaminating.
Trained Operatives carried out the removal of Asbestos throughout the structure in conjunction with the City of Manchester Environmental Unit.

Decontamination of Pigeon droppings was also required due to the building lying empty for some time prior to demolition. Once decontaminated, the soft strip operation was allowed to proceed.

The Multi-Storey Block was located on a busy roundabout with adjacent occupied housing blocks only 12 metres away and a live open Substation 4 metres away.

Taking account of the proximity of the adjacent Substation and housing, it was decided to employ 2 differing methods of demolition - Floor by Floor Deconstruction at the sub-station end followed by Super Longreach Demolition for the remainder.

The preparatory works included for the total encapsulation of the Substation with protective Scaffolding and provision of Crash Decks.

Once completed, the Gable end of the structure and returns were fully scaffolded on the nine floors and enclosed with Monoflex Sheeting.

Preparatory works also included for exploratory trial holes to the floors to determine the level of reinforcement for incorporation in the structural calculations for the back propping arrangements.

Once the structural calculations were verified by the Client, Connell’s backpropped the 9 floors and, with all other preparatory works in place, two 3-tonne excavators were craned up to roof level to commence the Floor by Floor Deconstruction.

The 3 tonne Mini Excavators worked down until the first 25% of the structure was removed. Throughout this section of the work, Connell’s Longreach Machine assisted with the separation of the 2 phases a floor at a time.

Once the end section of the building was removed and access created, the Cat 235D Longreach equipped with rotating concrete shear munched down the remaining 75% of the structure in a Floor by Floor sequence.

Throughout the project, Connell Bros. provided a Resident Liaison Officer to deal with any queries or complaints that may have arisen out of the works.
No complaints were received and Willow Park Housing Trust’s Chairman complimented Connell Bros. on the way the demolition was successfully completed.

The 18 week Project was completed on time with no injuries or accidents to members of staff or the public.

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