Demolition and car park closures
Why is demolition taking place on this site?
Cornwall Council has determined that the existing structures on the Pydar site have come to the end of their useful life and as many of them can’t be repurposed, they need to be taken down. Once the site is cleared, this will make way for the Pydar regeneration project to start.
When will demolition take place?
Contractors and activity will be occurring on site from the beginning of February and last unit late Summer 2022. The First Phase of the programme will include demolition of St Clements House, Carrick House, 57 Pydar Street, Viaduct Car Park, Pydar Street Car Park, Carrick House Car Park and the demolition of two industrial units adjacent Truro Bowling.
How long will demolition last?
The first phase of demolition is due to be completed in late Summer 2022.
What hours will demolition be taking place? Will it occur on weekends too?
The site working and vehicle delivery hours will be 08.00 to 18.00, Monday to Friday and Saturday 08.00 to 13.00. There will be no working on Sundays or Bank Holidays.
How will you keep it quiet and minimise disruption to my home?
During the demolition phase, noise monitoring will be undertaken on site to ensure noise levels remain within acceptable guideline levels and to limit any noise disturbance to local residents and businesses.
Demolition will be carried out using long reach excavators with attachments designed to meet the requirements of this site. This specific method of long reach machines is being used to reduce health and safety risks and means dust and noise will be supressed as much as possible.
What roads are closing?
There are no planned road closures associated with the demolition works commencing in February 2022. You will be able to drive along all roads as is.
How will you keep the pavement safe and clear?
Hoarding will be installed around the perimeter of the demolition site and every effort will be made to ensure the safety and security of people walking along the pavement and driving along roadway. Site managers will be routinely supervising the area to ensure pavements are safe and free of any debris.
Some temporary closures of footpaths may be required but this will be appropriately signposted and for limited periods of time to minimise any disruption.
What roads will construction traffic/lorries be traveling on?
Access to the site will be from the A39 Newquay Road and A390 and connecting from the A30. Demolition & construction vehicles will avoid the B3284 via Shortlanesend.
Vehicles on the A390 will exit at Trafalgar Roundabout and turn onto St Austell Street (B3284) and proceed in a northerly direction to the site and enter the site from either Moresk Road and Oak Way or Pydar Street Car Park.
Vehicles leaving the site will exit the site via Moresk Way onto the B3284, proceed in a southerly direction to Trafalgar Roundabout joining the A390, and then proceeding to the A30.
What car parks are closing? And for how long?
In Phase 1 all car parks on site are closing with the exception of Oak Way/Moresk Car Park.
Moresk Car Park will remain open for the duration of the demolition works. Residents with the appropriate permits will have access to the car park at all times and can access the car park via the existing road bridge and Oak Way.
Where will we park now? Will this effect on-street parking?
You can continue to park in Moresk Car Park. There will be no effect to any on-street parking. You can use the Park & Ride services as well as any of the other Council car parks located in the city centre, which you can find here.
What will happen to the businesses at Pydar currently?
Businesses, including Truro Bowl and Pydar Pop Up, will remain open during this period.
How much is this costing the Council?
Cornwall Council was awarded £2.45m grant funding from the Brownfield Land Release Fund, of which some of that money will be allocated for this demolition work.
Who do we contact if we have an issue?
DSM, the appointed site contractor, will provide contact details soon. We will share these with you as soon as possible.
What happens after demolition?
The Pydar development will be readied for construction, pending approval from Cornwall Council. For more information on next stages, visit this section.
Who agreed to this?
Cornwall Council approved outline planning consent on 23 September 2021 and Cabinet granted approval on 10 November.
Can we see progress?
We will share site photos as soon as possible!
Are all the trees being removed from the site?
No, there has been a survey undertaken to identify trees to be protected. Tree protection will be installed by the contractor and an arboriculturist will inspect the works to ensure any retained trees are not impacted or damaged by the demolition.
Will the demolition impact the river?
No. Surface water run-off will be carefully filtered and monitored to ensure there are no contaminants. An ecological clerk of works will oversee the demolition and ensure there are no adverse impacts to the river both in terms of water quality and also wildlife.
What will happen to the materials arising from the demolition process? Where will they go and can any be reused or recycled?
The only material planned to be disposed of to landfill are asbestos containing materials and the equipment, PPE, sheeting etc used in their safe removal.
The other materials in the buildings will be re-introduced into a material supply chain by predominantly using local transfer stations. The majority of theses materials will be recycled, eg concrete and brick into secondary aggregates and steel back into the metal supply chain. Our initial surveys have not identified any materials that it would be practicable to re-use. This conclusion has been reached based on viable re-use opportunities and the increased health and safety risks involved in removing materials in a condition suitable for re-use.
Waste transfer stations sort waste into various waste streams depending on the material involved and markets for the sorted product. Our site waste management plan, produced during the tender process, took a conservative value for material recycling. The most problematic demolition waste stream for sustainable disposal is mixed soft strip. Generally now mixed soft strip is sorted into four disposal routes, re-use, recycling, recovery as a fuel and a small amount to landfill.
Is the site secure?
There will be on-site security throughout the demolition period, including security for out-of-hours and weekend periods.