Demolition of imposing Beech Hill tower blocks in Halifax due to start

The blocks on the Beech Hill estate have stood empty for more than ten years but they will soon be no more as Calderdale Council and Together Housing begin its multi-million pound project.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and Environment, Councillor Daniel Sutherland, said in his report to full council the asbestos strip on the tower blocks is now complete and the demolition work will begin early April until August 2019.

Rhodar, a leading specialist enabling works provider will be in charge of demolishing the three 18 storey tower blocks.

Up to 80 Rhodar operatives are scheduled to work on the internal strip out and subsequent top down deconstruction of the tower blocks, along with a 65-metre super high reach excavator, of which only a handful exist in the UK.

Four excavators ranging from 21 to 40 tonnes will be on hand to process site materials and the existing concrete and rubble will be recycled on site into a specific engineered fill material that will then be used to create a development platform for the next level of regeneration.

This will contribute to a significantly reduced carbon footprint for the project by minimising vehicle movements in and around the project area.

Rhodar will also utilise special water jets attached directly to the demolition equipment in addition to state-of-the-art mist cannons to mitigate dust migration generated from the demolition works.

The project will see 113 construction jobs created. A total of 114 new homes will be built of which 57 affordable homes will be created to meet local housing needs.

The total delivery cost of the project is £21.813 million, this will be funded through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Calderdale Council, other public sector funding including from Homes England, and a contribution from Together Housing Association.