Charlecote & Longleat

Charlecote & Longleat

Forming part of a prestigious contract awarded to us by Optima Community Association the demolition of Longleat and Charlecote Towers, two 20 Storey tower blocks, was facilitated by the controlled use of explosives.

These works were the first phase of a five year demolition project on the Lea Bank Estate, in Birmingham. As the works tendered were for contractors design, we researched alternative methods of demolition and concluded that the controlled use of explosives would provide the safest and most environmentally friendly means of demolishing the blocks.

Charlecote Tower had an adjacent two storey property, which had to be retained. This was eight metres away at a lower level. This posed a number of problems with regard to the sequence of the collapse, and design of protection to contain the spread of debris.

When collapsing this same block, we had to ensure minimal loading on an underground structure which housed the pumping station providing water for the remainder of the housing estate. This structure was four metres away from the gable.

As the blocks were considered City Centre location, the exclusion zone encompassed a number of main roads. A series of road closures and diversions had to be in place, diverting a large percentage of City Centre Traffic away from the affected area

On the day there were approximately 200 people working to evacuate 1,000 residents erect and then dismantle 600 Heras Fence Panels and manage clean-up operations.

Excellent planning and teamwork undoubtedly ensured the satisfactory conclusion of the demolition, which finally took less than five seconds.