FDS were awarded the principal contractor role to undertake various demolition works to this residential scheme to salvage its planning status. The current owner had received the site in a bad condition with various works having begun but later been discontinued. This gave rise to the presence of two unsafe structures – an internal timber staircase and an external half-demolished RC annex with an RC staircase inside. Both of these needed remedying by a given date in order to keep permissions for the planned redevelopment.
In the rear of the site, there was overgrown brush that needed clearing and some residual foundations left in situ from previous structures. FDS cleared all of this and graded site levels in such a way to provide safe and stable access for surveys and future works.
The internal staircase had been structurally condemned by the project engineer, so needed dismantling without ever being used as a platform. Additionally, to this, the bottom landing entered a room later discovered to have AIB residue coating the walls. As such, careful sequencing was needed – first the asbestos cleaning had to be undertaken in the basement, and next, small penetrations were made upwards through the staircase to enable a progressive scaffold to be built around and through the structure. This eventually provided safe access for the dismantling of the staircase.
Externally, the RC stair abutted the garden wall and oversailed a busy street adjacent to a school entrance. Demolition scaffold was erected for protection purposes and the top half of the structure brought down by hand using a combination of access from the scaffold and from a cherry-picker sited internally
FDS was able to use a specialist mulching attachment on all of the brush to reduce it down in size enough to allow natural decomposition into the soils. We also used the bucket crushing attachment to grade down circa 300T of hardcore, bricks etc for levelling on site. Salvaged timber was utilised in the making safe of exposed edges etc brought about by the demolition works.
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This project was absolutely defined by the situation our client found themselves in prior to our appointment. The scope was drafted with a view to balancing competing needs of project progress, safety, design certainty, and a looming planning deadline.
This demanded a unique approach to sequencing; one that would feel illogical in most settings. It also shaped our responses to discoverable items such as asbestos contamination.
FDS prepared and resourced the project with a view to build in contingencies for all scenarios, practical and bureaucratic. We brought stability to dangerous structures and unstable situations. Ultimately, our client had all their needs met and was able to take the project forward into its next phase.
If you would like to find out how First Demolition can help you please send an enquiry via the form below.
Address: 64 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7JF
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8088 2539
Email: operations@firstdemolition.co.uk
A: De-rating refers to works carried out to a property to render it incapable of beneficial occupation, with the aim of removing or reducing its business rates liability. This is typically achieved through a targeted strip-out of key elements such as services, finishes and facilities.
A: This depends on the building and the intended use, but the principle is consistent: the property must no longer be capable of occupation in its current form. We work with clients and their advisors to ensure the scope of works aligns with the level required to support a successful de-rating position.
A: Yes. While formal rating advice typically sits with specialist consultants, we bring practical experience of what has been required on previous schemes and how works are assessed in reality. We help translate that into a clear, deliverable scope on site. We have also worked with several different ratings surveyors and can assist you with their appointment and handle the liaison and documentation throughout the process.
A: Yes. In many cases, de-rating works form part of a wider strategy for refurbishment or redevelopment. We plan works in a way that achieves the immediate objective, while also considering how the building will be taken forward. This often means leaving the mechanical service infrastructure in tact.
A: Absolutely, many of our de-rating projects are partial occupation only. If floors or demises within floors are adequately separated, landlords can apply for rates relief for their specific areas. Equally, on multi-floor projects, they can apply for rates relief as the floors complete, meaning they are not waiting for the completion of the whole project before they achieve any savings.
A: In Central London, business rates on commercial property can easily get up to around £40 per square foot per annum. This is paid by landlords irrespective of whether their spaces are tenanted (except for short periods of rates relief). De-rating strip out costs will be capped at £5 per square foot and are often less than that. As a rule of thumb, it is common that stripping out for rates relief shows global savings after 6-8 weeks, and the savings compound the longer the space is set to be vacant. Over the course of a year, on a 10,000ft2 office space in Central London, we would expect savings of £350,000.
A: If you have a lease-end or a tenant has suddenly vacated your property, you have three months to act. If the space is new and likely to be attractive to a new tenant in its current form, you can wait it out. If however, there is anything dated about the installation or you feel that any tenant would want to see major upgrades in the CAT A infrastructure, then it is best to act now. When refurbishment is inevitable, the early strip out for rates relief provides pure saving to the overall process without jeopardizing future works.
