Demolition - Pre-work Inspections and Precautions

Inspection by the owner of a building or structure which is about to be demolished will probably have much in their mind. There are numerous pitfalls which can be avoided but even after a 'regular' kind of inspection something may turn up to delayor thwart progress. (The use of 'regular' was not to imply a set kind of inspection.)

The inspection is likely to be in two parts:

1. desk study; and ,



2. site inspection.

Desk Study: The off-site examination is into the background of the paper evidence about building or structure. It is likely to cover deeds, leases granted, agreements, service contracts, plans and maps of the area, etc. In addition it may be useful to undertake an internet search.

The purpose of the desk study is to establish the likes of the following:

• tenants and lessees, etc with rights to remain on the premises for a given period or periods;



• heritage lands, eg common land, town or village greens;



• public rights of way crossing the land, eg footpaths, bridleways;



• planning background, eg for any listing as a historic building, location in a conservation area,



• important flora,eg tree preservation orders (TPOs), important hedgerows;



• archaeological background, eg evidence of remains being found, area of archaeological importance;



• neighbours' rights' eg any easements and natural rights, other significant servitudes;



• evidence of statutory wayleaves and easements crossing the property, eg cables, pipes, sewers;



• extant live services to the site's buildings and structures, eg gas pipes, electricity cables, telephone cables or overhead lines.

On-site Inspection: The on-site inspection will be to reveal any dangerous physical evidence of the matters mentioned above but also where paper trail is not available or is inconclusive, etc. Part of the purpose is to look for potential hazards affecting demolition, such as dangerous conditions for demolition workers, eg pit shafts, dene holes, etc.

An important line of desk and on-site study will be contaminative substances, ie hazardous substances, which may exist on site to affect workers. Of course, depending on the nature and extent of the contaminative substances the contamination will have to be dealt with but that is not likely to relate directly to the works of demolition.

Objectives: Essentially, the exercise has objectives, such as:

• to flag up hazards associated with demolition working on the site;


• to provide information for a plan showing the cables, etc;


• perhaps, to show up comntamination which may affect future remedial works and hence the future use and development of the site;


• flag up hazards which may affect neighbours' and other third parties' rights;


• underpin the case for the need for protective and other works;


• form the information base for insurances;


• form as basis for the demolition contact.
  

Finally, nature may call the tune. It has been reported that peregrine falcons were discovered to be nesting on a building when demolition was to progress! It is understood that the squatters are about to leave anyway.