Just like a balloonist, anyone working in the Construction industry is reliant on buoyancy: for one, it’s hot air that provides life, for the other, it’s a vibrant building sector that offers a livelihood.
So the news that one of the largest redevelopment projects in the UK has been given a green light is very welcome indeed for Scotland’s building industry.
When one major investment surfaces there’s a very good chance others are waiting in the wings just ready for the go ahead.
And, while these have yet to emerge, contractors of all kinds are currently gearing up to start work on the Edinburgh St James Scheme, the £850 million project that will see the dated 1970s shopping centre at the east end of Princes Street transformed into 250 new homes, a luxury hotel, 30 restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and almost 70,000 sq m of retail space.
The designs, by Edinburgh-based Allan Murray Architects, have now been given planning permission and work is scheduled to start next year.
Martin Perry, Director of Development, TH Real Estate, who are spearheading the project, commented: “We are absolutely delighted the City of Edinburgh Council has backed our vision for Edinburgh St James. We are now focused on the next phase of our plans for this landmark development – providing Edinburgh with a brand new, vibrant and exciting place to live, visit and shop in the heart of the city.”
Of course, before the shiny new shopping centre can go up, the old St James Centre has got to come down.
Now demolishing any building is a tricky undertaking, but when the structures in question include a tower block and a shopping mall on the busiest junction of Scotland’s capital city, the logistics become even more difficult.
And this is why demolition is such a highly specialised sector of the Construction Industry.
In this field it isn’t enough to wear a hard hat and steel cap boots – although these are fashion essentials at all times – there’s a vast amount of Health and Safety regulation covering every aspect of operations and these rules are constantly updated.
The fact is that large chunks of falling masonry are just one of the hazards created when a building is demolished; others such as asbestos – once a common additive to many different building materials, including concrete – can prove an invisible risk and have to be removed by specially trained workers following strict criteria.
From CAD Technicians to Electricians, JCB Drivers and Crane Operators to Labourers, Planning Specialists, Civil Engineers and even Explosives Experts – and let’s not forget the Health and Safety Advisors – it takes as many skills to knock down a building as it does to put one up.
Tower blocks can be toppled in seconds, but planning for their safe removal takes many months.
Demolition workers are professional destroyers and core skills include a responsible attitude towards safe working practices, being physically fit, comfortable working at heights and having good manual skills for operating tools and equipment.
Construction workers, on the other hand, are creators but many of the core skills are the same.
With the two phases of such a vast project as Edinburgh St James – destruction and construction – equally important, there’s certainly a yin and yang role for everyone.
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