Demolition mistake forces Chester man from home

A Delaware County man might have to move home because of a demolition mistake. A crew was supposed to demolish the home next door, but they damaged his place in the process.

The demolition of 503 Kerlin Street went wrong and brought part of the common wall with 501 Kerlin Street. A picture from last week shows it started with a crack but, a Chester official says, last weekend’s rain lead to the collapse.

Alonzo Burton is the unhappy owner of 501. He wants to rebuild but says, so far, he has not heard from the demolition contractor’s insurance company.

“We would be negotiating back and forth the cost to fix this but, as of a week now, no insurance agent,” said Burton.

Read more here or view the video below:

Indian city seeks outside help with mass demolitions.

Illegal buildings in Navi Mumbai may soon be blown up through controlled explosions if the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has its way. Cidco is scouting for international firms who will help in demolishing illegal or old buildings in Navi Mumbai through the implosion technique.

“We are looking out for companies which will help us carry out demolition activity through the implosion technique,” Cidco chief PRO Mohan Ninawe said.

Cidco and many other state government agencies carry out demolition with the help of labourers and heavy equipment but this is time-consuming. The heavy equipment can only be of use till a certain height of the building.

“We use workers to demolish structures. However, we can demolish only three-storey structures with these resources,” said chief controller of unauthorised construction Sumant Bhange.

Read the full story here.

Indianapolis council OKs razing of Keystone Towers

The City-County Council in Indianapolis has voted to spend $4 million to demolish the abandoned 15-story Keystone Towers and the long-vacant former Winona Hospital.

The council voted Monday night to use $2 million each to knock down the high rise and the hospital.

The council voted to spend $7.4 million in all, with the rest of the money going to prepare the sites for re-development.

Afterward, Mayor Greg Ballard issued a statement saying the Keystone Towers decision shows support for efforts to revitalize the neighborhood.

Read more here.

Shanghai officials could give go ahead to demolish giant suitcaseadvertisement.

Part of the appeal of writing about demolition is the fact that no two contracts and no two days are the same. One day, we might be writing about a tower block implosion, the next an overnight bridge demolition.

But never in our wildest dreams did we ever expect to report upon the imminent demolition of a giant item of luggage. But an enormous Louis Vuitton suitcase advertisement in downtown Shanghai may be destroyed within a week after the city government launched a crackdown on advertising that violates regulations, the Shanghai Daily reported on Wednesday.

The advertisement, which stands 20 metres tall and 4 metres thick around the facade of a luxury mall, was built last year to conceal renovation work. However, the huge advertisement violates city regulations, which only allow that type of outdoor advertisement to be 9 metres tall.

Residents around the area complained that the huge suitcase is a danger to public safety because it takes up too much sidewalk space, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road, the paper reported.

Shanghai is one of China’s wealthiest cities and its citizens among the most brand-conscious in the country. Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Prada are tripping over each other to sell their products.

Read more here.

Demolition plan unveiled for cooling towers at Richborough power station

The landmark towers at the derelict Richborough power station will be demolished if the go-ahead is given to turn the site into a green power park.

Site owner Richborough A Ltd is having a masterplan drawn up by BFL Management Ltd for the park which could include a recycling plant for household, commercial and industrial waste and biomass and gasification plants – where waste is converted through heat rather than incineration into electricity. An anaerobic digester plant to break down waste from food and gardens is also planned, using bacteria in a tank to turn waste to compost and fertiliser.

A National Grid interconnector, using undersea cabling, will provide power to Belgium and vice versa. The National Grid has committed investment of £400 million in capital costs to the plan.

The plan does not include retaining the three cooling towers and chimney which loom on the landscape of the A256. A spokesman for BFL said: “The cooling towers and chimneys are not retained within the current masterplan. The structures themselves are in a poor state of repair. BFL Management Ltd has appointed local contractors DDS Demolition which is liaising with the local planning authority to ensure the necessary measures are taken with regard to their demolition.”

Read more here.

David Morrissey of BGL Construction Services wins our Demolition Day swag bag.

It appears that the team at Demolition News Towers is not alone in its love of free stuff. We received almost 100 entries in our competition to win a bag of goodies collected during the recent NFDC Demolition Day in Manchester.

There was, it seems, some confusion over the question (The Demolition Day was held at a theatre complex named after a famous British artist. But what is the name of that theatre?) as almost half of the entries gave us the name of the artist rather than the venue.

However, David Morrissey of BGL Construction Services was the first name out of the correct entries hat; and we will be sending him his bag of swag shortly.

20 tonne Trevi-Benne pulveriser put through its paces in Spain.

The UK attachments specialist Northerntrack has very kindly shared this great video showing an Italian-built Trevi-Benne FR200 pulveriser being put through its paces on a contract in Spain.

Training Group launches bid to find the next generation of demolition professionals.

The UK’s National Demolition Training Group, the dedicated training arm of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors, is launching its latest bid to find the next generation of demolition professionals.

Following a successful launch in 2010, the NDTG is seeking applicants for a demolition apprenticeship. Beginning in October this year, the apprenticeship will provide an ideal first step on the ladder into the demolition industry.

Individuals or companies wishing to be involved in this important scheme should contact Training Group Manager Sophie Francis on Tel: 01442 217144 or via email: sophie@demolition-nfdc.com

Squibb Group hits back at “unfounded speculation” regarding incident at end-of-season party.

Squibb Group, one of the UK’s largest demolition companies, has issued a statement over allegations of its involvement in a fracas during the West Ham United end of season gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last night:

The Managing director and the senior directors of Squibb Group would like to address the inaccurate and unfounded reporting of an incident at the end of season gala dinner for West Ham United football club that took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane last night.

“Unfounded speculation of this kind could seriously tarnish the reputation of a respected family-owned business and, if necessary, we will be seeking legal redress to safeguard that reputation.”

Six month sentence for official who accepted corrupt payment over demolition contract.

A former City of Newark official was sentenced today to six months in prison and six months of home confinement for attempted extortion, after admitting that he accepted a $10,000 corrupt payment in order to assist a contractor in obtaining demolition contracts with the city, United States Attorney Paul J Fishman announced.

Anthony Clark, 46, of Newark—a former manager of Property Clearance for the City of Newark Department of Neighborhood Services and former program manager for the City of Newark Library—previously pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Freda L Wolfson to an information charging him with attempted extortion under the color of official right.

Judge Wolfson also imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court. According to the information to which Clark pleaded guilty and statements made in court: Clark admitted that in October 2006, he agreed to use his official authority and influence to obtain demolition contracts from the City of Newark for a contractor, actually a government cooperating witness (CW), in exchange for corrupt payments.

Read more here.