Safedem
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Safedem was appointed by Glasgow Housing Association to demolish the east-most slab (long) block at Red Road. Safedem took possession of the site on Monday 1st December 2008 and enclosed the site with a 6ft high chainlink fence. The site is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Red Road building is unique in terms of its design.
- It is 28 storeys high – the largest in Europe when built in the late 1960′s
- It is made of a steel frame construction – most residential high rise buildings in the UK have been constructed using concrete.
- It has a high level of asbestos containing materials present.
By law, in advance of any demolition, a Type 3 Asbestos Survey should be carried out. This is a fully disruptive survey that identifies the nature and extent of asbestos materials present. This survey took 8 weeks to compile and has given Safedem very accurate findings. Safedem will tackle the asbestos removal on a phased basis, in order to continually monitor and review the process. The method of removal is in strict accordance with the asbestos at work regulations and under notification to the Health and Safety Executive. The first phase has now been completed. During this first phase an Independent Analyst was employed to monitor the works. This Independent Analyst awarded air clearance certificates for all areas, in other words, no asbestos materials now exist in these locations. The asbestos materials were transported from the site in sealed containers to a facility licensed to dispose of the asbestos materials.
The next phase of asbestos removal is due to begin. Please be aware that an Independent Analyst will monitor all phases of the asbestos removal and these works will continue into early next year along with removal of other fixtures and fittings from the building such as baths, sinks, windows, doors etc. Around Autumn 2009, Safedem expects to have stripped enough fixtures and fittings from the building to allow their structural and explosives engineers to survey the steel frame construction, to then design a collapse mechanism. Basically they plan to design a scheme to demolish the building by the controlled use of explosives, commonly known as a blowdown.
On the basis that the blowdown operation proceeds, Safedem are aiming for this to take place in Spring 2010. The blowdown demolition will mean that nearby residents and some businesses will need to evacuate their homes and premises to allow the demolition to take place. More information regarding this operation will be available later in the year. Once the demolition has taken place, Safedem then have the task of clearing the resultant debris i.e. steelwork and concrete and this will be recycled back into the construction industry.
Safety is of paramount importance. The Safedem Community Liaison Team has given safety presentations to All Saints Secondary School, Barmulloch PS, Balornock PS, St. Catherines PS and St. Marthas PS. and have run some safety competitions in some of the schools. Further presentations are planned for the schools after the summer holidays. Presentations have also been given to many local groups in the area. Heavy goods vehicles enter and leave the site from the south side of Petershill Drive avoiding Bonnybroom Nursery School at the north side. A new footpath was also provided to allow more direct access to the nursery from the Barmulloch area.
Safedem recognised that the asbestos removal works could be a sensitive issue for the local community so decided to open their Demolition Information Centre. This is based at 30 Petershill Court on the ground floor level and is open Monday to Friday between 10am ˆ 2pm. The Centre has ample information available regarding all of the works being carried out on site, including all of the asbestos removal works information.
Safedem has made considerable attempts to inform and involve the community having already issued 3 newsletters, the latest inviting the local community to an Open Day on Saturday 27th June between 10am-4pm. The Safedem Team would be happy to provide a presentation to any local groups to give people living and working in the community the opportunity to become involved. If you are interested, visit the Safedem Team at the Demolition Information Centre at 30 Petershill Court or ring 0141 558 3433.
