Demolition of historic Chessington pub set to restart after new developers found

Demolition of a Chessington pub is set to restart months after work ground to a halt when the developer went bust.

John Laing Partnership, which was working with Paragon Housing to redevelop the Harrow into three blocks of flats, went into liquidation before Christmas. The demolition company downed tools after learning it may not be paid.

Chris Whelan, development director for Paragon Housing, said: “We have been working with the administrators to identify a new developer. Those negotiations are at an advanced stage and should be completed next week. All being well, we would certainly start by the end of January.”

Read more here

Leading Midlands demolition contractor calls in the receivers.

It may be the beginning of a New Year but it appears that the economic tribulations that plagued our industry in 2010 have no intention of going away quite yet.

Just before Christmas, we heard word that all was not well financially at Armoury Group, a leading Midlands-based demolition contractor. At that time, a combination of the festive holidays and an ominous silence from the company itself prevented us from speculating on the likely outcome.

However, a short phone call this morning (which was curtailed by a clearly frustrated telephonist hanging up on us) has confirmed that the company has called in the receivers. No further details are currently available.

As with all stories of this type, the collapse of Armoury is surrounded by rumour and speculation. Some stories suggest that the company’s financial ills stem from a single contract that went awry; other suggest a backlog of outstanding debt.

Whatever the truth – and we will be following the story closely – the UK demolition industry has lost another good demolition contractor, and some very experienced demolition professionals are starting th New Year with no job.

Through our sister website demolition-jobs.co.uk, we will be doing our best to assist employees impacted by Armoury’s demise.

Man returns to carry out further repairs, finds home being demolished.

When Andre Hall bought a house in the West End, he thought he “finally had a piece of Pittsburgh.”

On Monday, Hall, 40, returned to do repair work on the house at 3224 Motor St. to find workers demolishing it.

“I don’t come for a week over the holiday, and as soon as I come back, I see a backhoe on top of the house,” he said. “Why did they demolish the house? They could see I had put in new windows and had slabs of drywall.”

John Jennings, acting chief of Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Building Inspection, said his department notified contractors P.J. Deller Inc. on Nov. 3 that the house no longer was slated for demolition.

“A couple things went awry,” Jennings said. “The house next door was to be demolished, and the contractor, in error, took this house down as well.”

P.J. Deller officials did not return a call seeking comment.

Read more here.

Demo Talk Radio – Coming to a computer, MP3 player or smart phone near you soon!

DemolitionNews.com founder Mark Anthony has announced the impending launch of a new online “radio show” about and for the global demolition industry. Under the working title “Demo Talk Radio”, Anthony’s team is already pre-recording content and testing listening and download channels in readiness for a launch early in the New Year. “Based on the popularity of our previous audio and video podcasts, we know there is a demand for demolition-related news and features in a non-printed format,” Anthony says. “As a print journalist for more than a quarter of a century, this represents an enormous culture shock personally. But we live in a digital age in which people want information as it happens, and that they can take with them on their mobile telephones, electronic media players or computers.”

In keeping with this digital age philosophy, Anthony reports that Demo Talk Radio will be free to play, download and share, and can even be embedded on websites and blogs of other interested parties. “Although some of the major newspaper groups are trying to convince us otherwise, nobody wants to pay for news and information. So Demo Talk will be available free at demolitionnews.com and via iTunes from the outset, and will remain that way for as long as I am involved,” he asserts. “Ultimately, it will be funded by advertising; advertising that depends upon the largest possible number of listeners. So if companies, trade associations and other magazines want to use Demo Talk to help their own members and readers, they are free to do so.”

Anthony has set himself an ambitious target of producing a minimum of one show per month, initially concentrating upon the European market but with an eye to a more global perspective in the near future.

Content will include profiles on people, projects and companies, discussions of new and impending legislation, safety, training and any other issues likely to influence the business decisions of demolition professionals. “We already have key interviews lined up with some of the biggest names in the European demolition market so that’s where we will start,” he says. “But we’re in advanced negotiations with some of the leading lights of the US wrecking and blasting community and we would hope to air our first global edition by February.”

Mark Anthony admits that it is a bold move, and has spent the past year studying the demolition sector’s growing use of smart phones, digital media players and computers. “The demolition industry is all-too-often portrayed as a Luddite sector with no technological interest whatsoever. But, while they might be lacking in spare time, every demolition professional these days has a smart phone and a computer and an increasing number are using the Internet as their primary source of information,” Anthony concludes. “With the introduction of Demo Talk Radio, those demolition professionals will be able to get their fix of demolition news and views on the move, saving them time and ensuring they’re fully up-to-date with market, economic and legal issues that may impact upon their business.”

Police ID body found in upstate NY home demolition

Authorities have identified the man whose body was found by workers demolishing a fire-damaged house in upstate New York.

They say 51-year-old Patrick Sheehan lived in the three-story building and died of smoke inhalation during a Dec. 10 fire in Schenectady.

District Attorney Robert Carney tells The Daily Gazette of Schenectady that Sheehan’s death is being investigated as a homicide because the origin of the blaze has been deemed suspicious.

Read more here.

Grisly discovery for workers on fire-damaged Schenectady home.

Workers demolishing a fire-damaged house in an upstate New York city have found a body in the debris.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the person was a victim of a suspicious Dec. 10 fire who went undiscovered in searches of the three-story building in Schenectady.

A WRGB-TV crew on the scene says the body was covered by a white sheet Friday afternoon.

The Times Union of Albany says police officials confirm they’re investigating the discovery.

Read more here.

Stack that fell the wrong way gets OSHA all-clear.

When the smoke stack collapsed at the old Ohio Edison site, the state safety officials declared that they will not investigate into the situation. The failed detonation is not going to be looked into by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA.

The reason behind this, as given by OSHA, is that nobody was injured in the mishap. The 275 foot smoke stack that came crashing down in the wrong direction did not harm anyone. The aim of OSHA is to look after the health and safety of employees. Since nobody suffered any negative consequences from the whole incident, the agency does not see any point in looking into the matter.

Read more here.

Bellaire bridge debacle enters its second year.

The dilapidated Bellaire Bridge still spans the Ohio River as 2010 drew to a close, despite voiced intent this year to demolish it.

The bridge changed owners not once, but twice during 2010. And the matter of who now owns the bridge appears to be heading to an Idaho court in 2011. In May, Advanced Explosives Demolition of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho – stars of the reality television show The Imploders – purchased the bridge from Bellaire businessman Roger Barack for $1. Days later, AED reportedly sold the span to Delta Demolition and KDC Investments of Newton Falls, Ohio for $25,000. Representatives of both Delta Demolition and AED went before Benwood City Council on June 8 to speak of their plans to take down the bridge. And the bridge has been the subject of an ongoing dispute ever since.

“There are questions as to the ownership,” police chief Frank Longwell said in August. “Unlike in real property, there is no deed. Once either side gets what they need, we will have to have our city attorney research to determine who owns the bridge. It’s now a civil matter between folks who say they own it.

“We’re anxious to get it down, but right now these two guys have made a mess of the whole thing. It’s sad for them to put false hope on the city. They can’t come up with the required documents, then there is a squabble,” he added. “It’s embarrassing to be involved with project.”

No court date had been set in case by December. But Domoczik now says Delta Demolition plans to petition the Idaho court for permission to begin work on the bridge while the ownership issue is decided.

Read more here.

500 foot stack “will be history by mid-February”.

Almost 40 years after the Mohave Generating Station first went online, and five years after the plant ceased operations, the most visible part of the 1,580-megawatt coal-powered facility will be imploded.

According to current plans, the plant’s 500-foot stack will be a memory by mid-February, said Paul Phelan, manager of engineering and technical services for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) power production department. SCE is the majority owner of the facility, with a 56 percent share. Co-owners are: Salt River Project, with 20 percent, NV Energy, with 14 percent, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power holding a 10 percent interest.

Ground was broken at the approximately 2,500-acre site in 1968. The plant design called for a 275-mile long slurry pipeline to bring coal from mines at Black Mesa, Ariz. to create steam that would run two large turbo-generators. The generators began operating on April 1, 1971, and Oct. 1, 1971, respectively. The facility directly employed approximately 350 people.

In 1999, a lawsuit was brought by environmental groups, alleging emissions from the plant violated state and federal environmental standards. SCE maintained the facility was operating in full compliance with those standards.

Read more here.

Owner of partly demolished rescue station calls for entire building to be knocked down.

Neville Dickens has put in a planning application for the Wrexham building on behalf of himself and his wife.

Wrexham council is considering whether to prosecute after demolition began in August on the Grade II-listed building.

A consultant hired by Mr Dickens called the Maesgwyn Road building unremarkable and its history could be marked by a photographic record and plaque.

The property was used to train rescuers searching for men trapped in mining accidents.

In August police were called and demolition work was halted after complaints by campaigners trying to preserve it.

Read more here.