27 June 2008
St Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, has begun demolishing one of Birmingham’s biggest buildings as part of the £750 million transformation of the former MG Rover site at Longbridge.
The 750,000 sq ft New West Works building was built in 1973 to house the body plant for the new Mini Metro and was subsequently used to build all future Rover models. The building, itself the size of Birmingham’s Brindleyplace, is 294m long, 229m wide and 18m high. It is being demolished to make way for proposed new homes and business space.
The demolition follows on from the extensive investigation and ground clearing work which began in February on Longbridge West, and which involved the remediation of more than 200,000 cubic metres of soil across the site to prepare the land for development.
St Modwen’s construction manager Mark Batchelor said: "The demolition of one of the UK’s largest industrial buildings is a huge undertaking and a great deal of planning has been carried out not only to make the process safe, but to ensure we recycle as much of the material as possible.
"In keeping with our sustainable approach to this whole project, all of the material, bar any asbestos related substances, will be taken away for recycling or will be re-used elsewhere on site. This includes 4,804 tonnes of steelwork, 34 tonnes of non-ferrous metals and 115 tonnes of cable and copper – fitting perfectly with our corporate target to reclaim or re-use 95 per cent of all materials from demolition and remediation.
"The recycled materials will be used across the 468 acre site, including tonnes of concrete crushed on site to form MOT Type 1 to use as fill material under the planned new highways and infrastructure. The time spent skilfully planning and executing this significant demolition project demonstrates our commitment and dedication to make Longbridge an eco-friendly and sustainable community in which to live and work."
The demolition process is expected to be complete in the autumn.
Major planning applications, representing £750 million of future mixed use development at Longbridge, were submitted to Birmingham City Council and Bromsgrove District Council in May.
Covering Longbridge North, Longbridge West and Longbridge East, together with improvements to the A38, the plans demonstrate the shared vision of St Modwen and joint landowner Advantage West Midlands to create more than 10,000 new jobs and 1,980 new homes at Longbridge over the next 15 years.
