Former Safeway supermarket

Background:

Reigart were contracted to demolish a former Safeway supermarket in the centre of Ayr to make way for the development of a new Matalan store. Many years of neglect had led to the presence of substantial quantities of pigeon guano building up within the building.

Challenges:

• Town centre site surrounded by heavy traffic
• A-listed adjacent building
• High volumes of asbestos
• Large quantities of pigeon guano in the roof spaces
• Anomalous design elements discovered in the course of the works.

Solutions:

This town centre site posed all the problems facing modern demolition – restricted access, busy traffic and attached neighbouring buildings.  The pigeon guano also presented a significant health risk to the public.

1. The guano was neutralised and removed prior to demolition.
2. Abnormal construction details arising from haphazard conversions and alterations through the years influenced the method and process.

Reigart had to react to circumstances and adopt a flexible approach to the deconstruction of this building, altering techniques and adapting methods to deal with each anomaly as it became apparent.