A DEMOLITION company has sprayed nearly one million litres of water on collapsing rubble following complaints about dust clouds.
Heard Demolition, which is clearing the remains of a former NatWest bank in Chelmsford to make way for a £64 million John Lewis, cinema and restaurant development at the back of Bond Street, has had two complaints from residents and one from a nearby pub.
To make amends it applied to Essex & Suffolk Water for a 'licensed stand pipe' to pump water from the ground, directly onto the rubble as it came down to stop any dust.
It has so far pumped nearly 900 cubic metres – equal to 900,000 litres – on the dust.
"We have tried to accommodate everyone and we also have a lunchtime break," said 27-year-old on-site manager James Bott.
The five-strong team stop work between 12.45pm and 2.15pm each day to give shoppers a dust-free lunch.
Father-of-one Mr Bott, who has been working on the demolition since July 8, said the team have had to delicately destroy the building's frame – constructed with reinforced concrete and steel – without touching the front of the old NatWest in the High Street.
Work with the 60 tonne pulveriser finished last week and Heard will remain on site clearing up for the rubble for another two weeks.
"It's been a bit more of an engineering exercise and a lot more thought had to go into it," said Mr Bott. "We would rather take the time on it than have to start over again and take it down by hand with drills."
He added that about 40 to 50 people a day flock to the demolition site to take photos.
Director Jim Heard, 36, said his team had been waiting six years to start the job.
"With the hot conditions making it so much harder it's put us all to the test.
"But we are making the best of a tough job and we are on track to have finished the demolition in seven to eight days so we've done really well," said Mr Heard, who set up the company when he was 17.
Essex & Suffolk Water spokesman Oliver Rogers said it was common for demolition companies to apply for a licensed pipe to extinguish dust.
"Heard Demolition hired it off of us and that is fine. It's a reasonable health and safety operation," he said. "But they have to have a reasonable usage."
