PROJECT OUTLINE

The University of South Wales was formed in 2013 following the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. It is the second largest University in Wales in terms of its student numbers and offers around 730 undergraduate and post graduate courses. The University has four main faculties across its campuses in South Wales in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd.

Walters were successful in securing the contract to demolish a number of buildings for the University of South Wales in the Pontypridd Campus (made up of Glyntaff and Treforest Campuses).

The project involved the controlled deconstruction of six buildings including redundant administration and education facilities, a plant room, a workshop and a medical centre. Following demolition, Walters reinstated the areas with a combination of car parks and hard and soft landscaping.

These works form part of the South Wales University’s on-going programme of expansion and modernisation as it continues to grow into a major International University.

PROJECT DELIVERY

Following a competitive tender process involving a price and quality tender assessment, Walters were delighted to be selected to undertake the demolition works for USW in Pontypridd. Due to the timing of the appointment, it was necessary for much of the work to be undertaken during term time requiring detailed planning of traffic and pedestrian routes and consideration of the timing of work activities to ensure that classes were not disrupted. Following service disconnections, Walters removed licensed and non-licenced asbestos containing materials from the buildings and then soft stripped all fixtures and fittings to ready the buildings for demolition. Vehicle movements in and out of the campus were tightly controlled with trained Vehicle Marshalls to ensure the safety of all. Walters mobilised a range of demolition rigs and specialist hydraulic demolition attachments to carefully dismantle the buildings in a controlled manner whilst ensuring that dust, noise and vibration were strictly controlled. Disruptive works were undertaken outside of learning times to ensure that disturbance to the day-to-day use of the campus was limited as much as possible. Waste streams were segregated at source and placed into bin containers and removed to local recycling centres. Slabs, foundations and a basements were removed from site in Walters own tipper wagons for recycling into aggregates. Following the completion of demolition works at each building site, Walters undertook civil engineering works – including service duct installation, kerbs and edgings, drainage, road and car park construction, landscaping and surfacing – to breath new life into the former redundant spaces on the constrained campus site. The works at USW were completed on time and on budget and much to the satisfaction of the USW Estates Management team.