Lets begin with the good news. Nine UK demolition companies have been confirmed on the framework that will demolish the former steelworks at Redcar ahead of the construction of a GE Renewables wind turbine blade factory.
The list of the nine firms selected is an impressive mix of the justifiably predictable and the pleasingly local with industrial demolition giants such as Erith Group and DSM vying for works alongside the North East’s very own MGL Demolition and Thompsons of Prudhoe.
It is predicted that the demolition might involve as many as 1,000 workers, which will be terrific for local employment. And there is thought to be as much as £150 million up for grabs for those that made it onto the shortlist. I realise it doesn’t actually work like this but – evenly split – that is £16 million per company. As the industry continues to shrug of the shackles of the COVID crisis, such a cash injection would – I am sure – be welcomed by all.
But – and let’s be honest, you knew there was a “but” coming – that is not how frameworks actually work. The truth is that each of those nine companies will have already been required to jump through endless rounds of bureaucratic and legislative hoops. They will have been required to prove their competence, their experience and to provide evidence that they have the financial clout to support and undertaking of this magnitude. Each will have invested tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds to have even made it onto the nine-company shortlist.
For all of that, frameworks of this nature generally offer no guarantee of work, of income or of financial recompense of any kind. The money invested to get onto the framework is merely a calculated gamble that will hopefully pay out in the form of a sizeable chunk of work.
And even that is not the biggest issue. No. The biggest issue is likely to be the speed with which the demolition of the former steelworks is expected to be completed. Indeed, there was talk of accelerating the demolition even before most of the nine aforementioned companies had boots of the ground in Redcar.
You see, while we in demolition see a possible 1,000 jobs to bring this project to fruition, those relatively short-term jobs are merely an obstacle to even greater levels of local employment.
The former steelworks has been earmarked as the location of a new wind turbine blade manufacturing plant that will support more than 2,250 workers during the construction phase with an extra 750 direct highly skilled jobs and close to 1,500 more in the supply chain when the plant is up and running.
Newly-elected local mayor Ben Houchen is quite clearly pro-construction. His time in office, his reputation and possibly his re-election will hinge upon the delivery of this project and many more just like it while the Tees Valley enjoys its Freeport status.
But, as evidenced by the resignation of disgraced former health secretary Matt Hancock this past weekend, politicians’ mouths can get them into trouble. And Mayor Ben Houchen’s pronouncement that he wants the former steelworks “on the floor” within a year appears as misguided as it is ambitious.
The Teesworks facility covers a vast and sprawling area of ore than 1,800 hectares. As a former steelworks, it is likely that the site will contain a huge amount of asbestos together with a multitude of other post-industrial elements, chemicals and toxins that will need to be removed and/or remediated. I am no expert, but that alone sounds like a year or more of work in itself.
Also, as a former steelworks, the structures on the site are likely to have been built to last with heavily reinforced concrete. The presence of the likes of Brown and Mason, Erith and DSM on the framework shortlist is not because their pre-tender PowerPoint presentation was particularly eye-catching; it is because they have the ability to bring the level of man and firepower required to tackle a project of this nature and magnitude.
I fully understand the mayor’s determination to see this mammoth project resolved in good time. I realise that his eyes are already fixed on a larger prize, and that this demolition is merely the first step on a road to far greater glory. But demolition of any kind takes as long as it takes. The rules of acceleration do not apply.
Mayor Houchen and his team need to understand that demolition of this kind is a marathon, not a sprint. It is also worth remembering that the Redcar site has already claimed the lives of two workers back in September 2019.
I am not going to wish the nine companies luck. They don’t need luck – Their presence on the framework is evidence that they are each among the very best in the industry. So instead, I shall just wish them well and hope this framework delivers on at least some of what it promises.
