VIDEO: Harrogate’s Beales building comes down next week

The site manager looks on as pulverizers rake up debris.

The demolition of the former Beales department store is making progress and will be fully complete next week.

As Albert Street is closed for work on the Prezzo restaurant building on Saturday, the team will take advantage of this to start the using the big machinery.

At present two machines known as ‘pulverizers’ have done all the work they can and are now raking up the debris for disposal off site.

From tomorrow (March 28) a high reach machine will be able to reach up to the tallest part of the building and start pulling it down, hopefully reaching completion by the middle of next week.

After this is complete construction work can start on the new building, starting with the foundations.

The steel frame will be going up in the summer and once the building is finished the keys will be handed over to the shell and the tenants will fit it out.

Project manager of contractors Spring and Co. Richard Midgley said: “The smaller machines have done all they can so on Saturday we will start with the big machine.

“The highest section is the strong point of the building, which is the last part to come down, on Monday or Tuesday hopefully.”

High reach machine used to demolish the Beales department store this weekend.

Planning permission for the new £10m complex, to house a four-screen arthouse cinema along with nine restaurants or bars, was unanimously passed last September.

Once demolition is complete, the Beales building, which shut its doors last September, will be replaced by a new modern structure.

The demolition team is also made up of staff from Leeds-based firm F Hardwick.