Abseilers get to work as Civic Centre revamp starts

1 hour ago

Alison StephensonLocal Democracy Reporting Service

News image — It could take up to four weeks to cover the building in netting, depending on the weather

Alison Stephenson An abseiler in an orange jumpsuit and wearing abseiling gear and a helmet. He is on a building covered in green netting. — It could take up to four weeks to cover the building in netting, depending on the weather

Work on redeveloping a city centre building has begun with a specialist team of abseilers attaching giant green safety nets around the structure.

The nets, which were lifted onto the roof of Plymouth's 14 storey Civic Centre at the end of last week by a crane, were being fixed to the building on Wednesday in preparation for scaffolding going up in the new year.

The former council office, which has been redundant for years, will be turned into 144 flats and a City College campus focusing on training in the marine and green energy sectors.

Tugrul Aymen, project manager for contractors Morgan Sindall, said the work was running on schedule.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported Aymen saying: "We are on the 16th working day and have programmed in four weeks for the nets to be fixed and that is the initial phase of the works where we have to protect the facade precasts from potentially deteriorating further and falling down.

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"Hopefully we will finish before that time depending on the weather and the wind which might affect progress and performance."

A team of six are attaching the netting to the concrete facade at 3m (9.84ft) intervals on every floor.

Scaffolding is due to be put up around the whole building from January and it will be several months before the external concrete cladding is removed layer by layer from the 1962 Grade II-listed building.

Alison Stephenson A man in a navy suit and red tie stood in a car park. Behind him is a tall building covered in green netting. — Councillor Matt Smith said it was exciting to see the netting go up

This work accounts for roughly 30% of the £47m budget for the project - which will also include structural surveys, stripping remaining asbestos and demolishing the 1970s extension.

Councillor Matt Smith, Plymouth City Council's cabinet member for housing and city centre regeneration, said it was really exciting for the "first really visible stuff" to start on the outside of the Civic Centre.

"I can remember being at primary school and people talking about what is going to happen at the Civic Centre so to see it happening is just brilliant," he said.

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