St. Modwen is continuing to clear the way for future employment and residential space at Longbridge, with the demolition of 270,000 square feet of empty buildings off Lickey Road.

Situated on the Longbridge North area of the £1 billion regeneration scheme, the Paint Plant A and Dalmuir buildings were once part of the car production plant at Longbridge.  The derelict buildings, which contained significant quantities of asbestos, were handed back to St. Modwen by MG Motor UK Limited at the end of 2009.  Principal contractor Squibb has been appointed to undertake a 20 week programme of works to safely demolish the buildings and currently has a 30-strong workforce on site.

Mark Batchelor, construction manager for St. Modwen, said: "We have demolished approximately five million square feet of redundant buildings at Longbridge to-date, and we have invested in a massive programme of remediation across the 468-acre former industrial site to create the right conditions for future regeneration and growth.  The demolition of the Paint A and Dalmuir buildings represents the next important phase in the process of site clearance.  

"The two buildings, visible from the Lickey Road, are located on Longbridge North - the site of the proposed £100 million Longbridge town centre.  Here, the 250,000sq ft Bournville College is currently under construction, with the first intake of students expected in 2011.  The vision for the first phase of Longbridge town centre also includes an 85,000 sq ft food store, retail units, hotel, car parking and the four acre Austin Park.  The delivery of the town centre is key to St. Modwen creating a thriving and prosperous new community here at Longbridge, and to achieving our aim of bringing 10,000 new jobs and almost 2,000 new homes to the area."

As part of St. Modwen's ongoing commitment to sustainable development, at least 95 per cent of the non hazardous materials reclaimed from the demolition of Paint A and Dalmuir buildings will be recycled.  From cables and light fittings to metals and concrete, the materials will either be utilised elsewhere on site or recycled off site as part of a stringent waste management strategy.