6
          
        
        
          MAY-JUNE 2015
        
        
          
            d
          
        
        
          
            &
          
        
        
          
            ri
          
        
        
          WORLDNEWS
        
        
          ■
        
        
          News reports say
        
        
          that Makkah (Mecca),
        
        
          Saudi Arabia, will see
        
        
          the largest property
        
        
          development demolition
        
        
          drive ever undertaken by
        
        
          any international city. Some
        
        
          26,000 individual properties
        
        
          are scheduled for demolition
        
        
          by themiddle of October
        
        
          this year, including around
        
        
          13,000 buildings and plots
        
        
          of land on the first, second,
        
        
          third and fourth ring roads,
        
        
          as well as the train and
        
        
          GrandMosque real estate
        
        
          projects and the King Abdul
        
        
          Aziz Road redevelopment
        
        
          scheme. Around 10,000
        
        
          further properties have been
        
        
          identified for demolition in
        
        
          Dahlat Al-Rushd and Jabal
        
        
          Al-Sharashif.
        
        
          ■
        
        
          In New Zealand, the
        
        
          earthquake damaged
        
        
          Christchurch Central Police
        
        
          Station on Hereford St is
        
        
          to be brought down using
        
        
          a controlled implosion on
        
        
          May 30, with the public
        
        
          encouraged to stay away
        
        
          from the site. Images and
        
        
          audio of the demolition are
        
        
          to be recorded as part of
        
        
          'The 48Hereford Street
        
        
          Project', which is a tribute to
        
        
          the hundreds of Christchurch
        
        
          buildings that have been
        
        
          demolished as a result of the
        
        
          earthquakes.
        
        
          ■
        
        
          In the UK, a London
        
        
          property developer has been
        
        
          ordered byWestminster
        
        
          Council to ‘recreate in
        
        
          facsimile’ a 94 year old pub
        
        
          that it had illegally demolished
        
        
          after failing to get planning
        
        
          permission to redevelop
        
        
          the site to replace it with
        
        
          a block of flats. This is the
        
        
          first time a UK council has
        
        
          ordered a building of this size
        
        
          to be rebuilt despite such
        
        
          demolitions being relatively
        
        
          common occurrences in
        
        
          attempts by developers to
        
        
          speed the planning process.
        
        
          ■
        
        
          Delhi, India's national
        
        
          capital,is to get a second
        
        
          construction and demolition
        
        
          waste recycling plant a
        
        
          Shastri Park. It will be set
        
        
          up by IL&FS Environmental
        
        
          Infrastructure & Services Ltd
        
        
          (IEISL) with a capacity of 500
        
        
          tonnes per day.
        
        
          DEMOLITION BITS
        
        
          
            Brandenburg joins
          
        
        
          
            Summit line-up
          
        
        
          Another speakerhasbeen
        
        
          confirmed for the conference
        
        
          component of the2015World
        
        
          DemolitionSummit.Dennis
        
        
          McGarel fromBrandenburg
        
        
          Industrial ServiceCompanywill be
        
        
          present inAmsterdam tooutline
        
        
          thework it undertookduring the
        
        
          removal of thePrenticeWoman’s
        
        
          Hospital andMaternityCenter in
        
        
          downtownChicago,USA.
        
        
          DesignedbyarchitectBertrand
        
        
          Goldberg, thebuilding consisted
        
        
          of a cantileverednine storey
        
        
          four cylindrical tower structure
        
        
          sittingon topof a rectangular five
        
        
          storey lower and createdaunique
        
        
          challenge forBrandenburg.Added
        
        
          to this, thedemolitionof the
        
        
          buildingwasdelayed formore than
        
        
          ayear as a result of court action
        
        
          instigatedbypreservationists
        
        
          determined to save the structure.
        
        
          Denniswill outline the challenges
        
        
          facedbyBrandenburgduring
        
        
          thishighprofileproject and the
        
        
          means that the companyused to
        
        
          overcome them.
        
        
          Brandenburg joins a confirmed
        
        
          programme that features speakers
        
        
          from leading contractors around
        
        
          theworld, coveringprojects as
        
        
          diverseas cranedismantling
        
        
          
            Replacement
          
        
        
          
            engine
          
        
        
          
            proposal
          
        
        
          A proposal to allow the
        
        
          installation of replacement
        
        
          engines in non-roadmobile
        
        
          machinery (NRMM) for a
        
        
          period of up to 10 years
        
        
          from the end of the original
        
        
          emissions stage is being
        
        
          welcomed by CECE (the
        
        
          Committee for European
        
        
          Construction Equipment),
        
        
          although it is calling for a
        
        
          longer timescale.
        
        
          In the current Directive,
        
        
          the European Commission
        
        
          proposal for the next stage of
        
        
          exhaust emission regulations
        
        
          [Stage V] does not include
        
        
          a provision for replacement
        
        
          engines. CECE said that such
        
        
          a provision was essential
        
        
          because it allowed the
        
        
          manufacture of new engines
        
        
          to comply with the original
        
        
          limit values of the engine that
        
        
          is to be replaced.
        
        
          CECE welcomes the
        
        
          replacement engines provision
        
        
          but said the time limitation
        
        
          is insufficient – in particular
        
        
          for large scalemachines that
        
        
          have high operating hours,
        
        
          a substantial operational life
        
        
          and represent high-value
        
        
          capital investments.
        
        
          through to explosivedemolitionof
        
        
          high rise structures.
        
        
          With the2015Awards
        
        
          component of theSummit also
        
        
          seeing strong interest from
        
        
          potential entrants, the event isone
        
        
          not tomiss, so save thedate in
        
        
          yourdiary.
        
        
          ■
        
        
          
            Two buildings in one –
          
        
        
          
            the PrenticeWoman’s
          
        
        
          
            Hospital andMaternity
          
        
        
          
            Center in Chicago
          
        
        
          
            NDTG expansion plans
          
        
        
          TheUK’sNational Federationof
        
        
          DemolitionContractors (NFDC)
        
        
          andNationalDemolitionTraining
        
        
          Group (NDTG) have announced
        
        
          thepurchase ofVitaliaHouse,
        
        
          adjacent to theFederation’s
        
        
          headquarters, ResurgamHouse,
        
        
          whichboth currently share in
        
        
          HemelHempstead. It is planned
        
        
          thatVitaliaHousewill become
        
        
          home to theNDTG, with two
        
        
          largededicated training rooms,
        
        
          a largepurpose built simulator
        
        
          room alongwith a large
        
        
          indoor practical training area.
        
        
          Conversionworkwill start shortly,
        
        
          with the first trainees touse the
        
        
          facilitybyAugust 2015.
        
        
          NDTG lead trainer/assessor
        
        
          IainKirk commentedon the
        
        
          expansion: “Thenew training
        
        
          facilitywill give theNDTG
        
        
          more scope in coursedelivery
        
        
          andwill enableus to train
        
        
          more individuals inmaking the
        
        
          demolition and construction
        
        
          industries a safer place towork.”
        
        
          MirandaMartin,NDTG
        
        
          manager, explained that the
        
        
          expansion for theNDTGwill be
        
        
          amajor benefit to thedemolition
        
        
          industry: “VitaliaHousewill give
        
        
          theNDTGgreater flexibility in
        
        
          providing courses keeping the
        
        
          NDTG at the forefront of bespoke
        
        
          training for bothourmembers
        
        
          and customers in thedemolition
        
        
          industry. Theprovision for a
        
        
          dedicated room tohouse the
        
        
          demolitionplant simulatorwill
        
        
          greatly improve the ability tooffer
        
        
          specific training courses inplant
        
        
          operation.”
        
        
          ■