North East File Collection - NEFC

APPLICATION NUMBER: R-2020/0302/PND-Officer Report

LOCATION: LAND EAST OF SMITHS DOCK ROAD SOUTH BANK

PROPOSAL: PRIOR APPROVAL FOR DEMOLITION OF BUILDINGS

The South Bank site is approximately 140 hectares in size and lies with the constitutional boundary of South Tees Development Corporation.

The applicant has provided the following summary of the buildings proposed for demolition that are all located away from public access.

1 Former Dispatch Office: a single-storey brick-built building with concrete slab and beam roof. Approximately 5m long by 4m wide;

2 Former Switch House (1): a single-storey brick-built building with concrete slab and beam roof. Approximately 5.5m long by 4m wide;

3 Former Pump House: a single-storey brick-built building with concrete slab and beam roof. Approximately 4m long by 4m wide;

4 Former Firefighting Tank: a steel cylindrical tank approximately 7m in diameter and 20m tall;

5 The Ferro Manganese Crushing Plant: a large portal steel frame semi-open shed with steel sheet cladding to its upper third elevations and gables with an apex roof. Approximately 80m long by 45m wide;

6 Elevated Tank: steel construction tank with supporting steel work and pipe work. Approximately 7m long and 2m wide;

7 Former Switch House (2): a single-storey brick-built building with concrete slab and beam roof. Approximately 6.5m long by 5m wide;

8 Redundant Sub-station (1): a single- storey brick-built with concrete slab and beam roof. Approximately 6.5m long by 5m wide;

9 Former Pig Casting Machine Control House: a two-storey brick-built building with concrete slab and beam roofs. Approximately 8.5m long by 6.5m wide;

10 Redundant Clevestone Garages: consists of 3 steel-framed and steel-clad sheds with a collection of small brick-built ancillary buildings. The largest shed being approximately 20.5m long by 16m wide. The other two sheds are joined longitudinally but individually measure approximately 33.5m long by 14.5m wide;

11 Redundant Sub-station (2): a 2.5 storey brick-built building with concrete slab and beam roof. Approximately 7.5m long by 5.5m wide;

12 Former Maintenance Buildings and Offices: this is a collection of buildings consisting of single-storey brick-built out buildings and a large steel-framed and steel-clad shed with two-storey peripheral brickbuilt office and welfare buildings. The out buildings measure approximately 34m long by 9.5m wide. The main shed is approximately 90m long by 21.5m wide. The office and welfare buildings are L-shaped and approximately measure 21m by 6m for the short leg and 68m by 6m for the long leg.

The application seeks prior approval to demolish various buildings on land east of Smiths Dock Road, Grangetown. The applicant has provided the following description in a supporting letter outlining the works that are intended to take place.

All demolition works shall be carried out in accordance with the BS Code of Practice for Demolition BS6187. All work shall confirm with all relevant legislation, and legislation dealing with health and safety, safe access, safe places of work, hazardous substance and protection of species.

As set out in the accompanying Demolition Method Statement, the outline sequence of works to be undertaken by an appointed contractor is expected to be:

• A refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey will be carried out to confirm the presence and location of asbestos. A specialist asbestos removal contractor will attend the site and remove any asbestos
• identified in the asbestos report.
• The first stage of demolition will involve the clearance of low-level
• vegetation, old industrial waste and rubbish to ensure that trip hazards are removed. Any hazards will be highlighted and cordoned off using barriers, cones and tape.
• Services will be isolated. STDC will confirm the isolation of their assets
• in writing prior to any work commencing.
• The buildings identified above will be demolished.
• All floor slabs and hardstanding to be retained. The site is to be left level on completion, with any voids backfilled using on site crushed material.

The application has been supported by Demolition Method Statement as required by legislation which sets out the detail of the proposed demolition scheme. The applicant has again provided a short summary of the key points relating to the proposed demolition works within the supporting letter.

• Prior to any demolition works commencing, an ecological survey is to be undertaken to establish the presence of protected species or nesting birds. If found present, then works will cease whilst procedures are developed to deal with their presence.
• The steel framed structures with classing with have their side cladding and trims removed, with a cherry picker used to enable access to higher levels. Roof sheeting will then be stripped and set aside for disposal.
• Steelwork will be demolished using a mounted shear attachment to the excavator and the steel will be cut into small sections and lowered to the ground and set aside for off site disposal.
• The concrete beam and slab roofs will initially be punctured using a pecker attachment on the excavator. The concrete beams will then be lifted off the structure where possible and set aside for crushing. Where the roof cannot be safely separated from the supporting brickwork it will be collapsed into the footprint of the structure and then processed once the exterior walls have been demolished.
• The brickwork to the buildings will be pulled down using the selector grab attachment for the excavator. The bricks are to be crushed to a 6F2 specification and used to infill any voids or pipe channels.
• Dust suppression will be used at all times during the demolition of any brickwork or concrete structures. This will be in the form of a sprinkler head aimed directly at the work area. In situations where this method isn’t proving effective, mist atomiser cannons will be used to create a blanket over the work area.
• The firefighting water tank will be demolished using excavators with shear attachments which will cut through the top ring of the tank and then shear down vertically until an opening is formed to allow for the sides of tank to be folded into the footprint. All steelwork will then be removed from within the structure to expose the steel floor plate. The excavator will cut the floorplate into strips and fold them to allow for stockpiling and transportation off site.

The proposal to demolish the vessels and associated pipework falls within the definition of Schedule 2 Development as specified in the Town and Country

Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017, but the demolition is not considered to result in significant environmental effects, due to the location of the structures to be demolished with the significance not being beyond the local area.

Prior Approval for demolition deals only with the method of demolition and the after care of the site and this issue is examined below.

The proposed structures/buildings to be demolished are considered to be in a visually non prominent location surrounded other industrial buildings and structures. While the demolition and clearance of the site will leave an empty part to the site, it is considered that their removal would not have a significantly detrimental impact upon the surrounding area either with regard to general amenity or visual appearance and will allow for future development of this site and the wider STDC site.

The proposed method of demolition and restoration of the site thereafter is considered to be acceptable given the location of the site and the potential development that will take place at the site in future years.

Taking into account the content of the report the recommendation is to:

PRIOR APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED

Case Officer

Mr D Pedlow

Principal Planning Officer

David Pedlow

8 July 2020

Delegated Approval Signature

Claire Griffiths

Development Services Manager

09/07/2020