A bird's eye view of Canichers demolition: concrete discovery makes work harder
WORKERS taking down a derelict building in Lower Canichers have come across a surprise this week – concrete.
For the last three weeks, staff from a specialist contractor – Penny – have been slowly taking down the two properties behind The Swan Inn, which have been derelict for more than 30 years.
Now just the ground floor remains. But this week was harder than expected.
The crew have been working from a cherry picker, using a circular steel saw to cut out the plaster walls inside the structure. However, as they worked on the second property, it was discovered that the structure had been reinforced with concrete, making removing it much harder than originally expected. Despite that, the work is still on schedule.
A local contractor will come in next week and use a machine to sort through the waste from inside the site and then the building will be taken back to ground level. The work is expected to take another two weeks to complete.
The demolition is proving a challenge due to the constricted site. The derelict buildings are sandwiched between a pub and an office building, with only a small yard behind. The buildings open up onto the street, which is why the road is closed.
The buildings have been used a pigeon roost for many years and several dozen young pigeons were taken to the GSPCA at the start of the project to ensure they were not injured during the work.
They have now been released.
Specialist spray is being used to keep the dust down and ensure harmful bacteria from the pigeon droppings does not get into the air.
The site is being cleared to make way for a car park.
The road is closed until March 2020.
