NOW that an incredible 28 miles of scaffolding has been taken down, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Bristol area is fully open to the public again.
Large parts of the spectacular Tyntesfield Estate at Wraxall have been under wraps while a team of around 100 contractors have been working on a project to restore the Gothic mansion.
The work, which has seen the roof of the main house repaired and replaced, and the property rewired and re-plumbed with a new heating system, cost £4.6million.
It was funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other donations, and is part of a wider £16million project being carried out on the estate, saved by the National Trust in 2002.
For the first time in two years visitors will be able to see the Gothic architecture of the spectacular Victorian mansion with- out scaffolding in the way.
For the last 18 months the roof of the house has been hidden behind one of the largest temporary free-standing roof structures in Europe – the size of 10 tennis courts – while repair and restoration work was carried out.
The turrets and pinnacles, chimneys and gables that make up the Tyntesfield skyline are now back on show along with the new watertight and weatherproof roof.
Visitors will be able to see the restored red and black tiles that have not been seen by the public for generations.
The multitude of contractors that worked in all of the 106 rooms in the house have now gone, leaving behind new plumbing, wiring and thermostatically controlled heating.
The house was last rewired in the 1950s but has now been brought up to date with each room now having electricity.
The refurbishment work has been carried out in keeping with the property which was one of the first in the country to have electric lighting installed in 1890.
Rooms which had been stripped of their contents, covered in dust sheets or used as storage during the renovation works have been unwrapped, deep cleaned and reinstated.
Objects that were carefully packed away and moved into storage by trained staff and specialists have returned.
Acting house manager Meghan Wilton said: “This colossal project has been a bit like moving house, but imagine a house with over 100 rooms and more than 40,000 objects, ranging from Victorian cooking utensils and toys to rare and delicate pieces of furniture.
“It’s incredibly satisfying to see all the work complete as we begin to re-present the rooms, evoking the different ways all four generations of the Gibbs’ family used the house. The Main Hall, for example, with its chairs and jigsaw puzzles, recalls its time as a family living room in the 1890s, making it the perfect place to stop off and relax.”
A SCAFFOLDER arrested for drug driving said he was still suffering the effects after using cannabis the night before.
Michael McIntosh, 36, of Crowborough Road, was stopped after driving erratically past a crime scene in Mount Pleasant Road last November.
He was found to be carrying a knuckleduster and did not have a valid licence. He appeared at Hastings Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he admitted driving under the influence of drugs, possessing cannabis, possessing an offensive weapon, not having a licence and supplying false information to an insurance company.
Peter Bolwell, prosecuting, told the court police were manning a go-slow zone near the scene of an unrelated incident when McIntosh’s BMW approached. He said: “They heard the sound of an engine being thrashed and saw a car coming down the hill at about twice the speed limit before braking very heavily. The officers immediately noticed a strong smell of cannabis even before he wound down the window.”
McIntosh handed over the knuckleduster and a small bag of the class B drugs when questioned, and further checks found he did not have a full driving licence and that the insurance policy which covered the car had been obtained under a fake name.
Noelle Magennis, defending, said McIntosh had acted rashly after being offered a job as a scafffolder last year. “He had to have his own transport and did not have a licence but he rather foolishly thought that desperate times called for desperate measures.
“He was late for work that morning and panicking a little bit. He was driving faster than he should have been and although he had been using cannabis the night before he says he stopped at about 11pm or midnight. He thought he was fine to drive.”
In regards to the knuckleduster, Miss Magennis said McIntosh was a “martial arts enthusiast” who had borrowed it from a friend at work. “He was just going to keep it as an ornament and totally forgot he had it on him,” she said.
McIntosh has previous convictions for drug offences and was in breach of a conditional discharge for stealing money from a phone box when he was arrested in November.
Magistrates sentenced him to 180 hours of community service and banned him from driving for 18 months.
A 25-YEAR-old former Amman Valley man has been told he will not face jail despite admitting selling off thousands of pounds worth of his father’s business equipment.Christian John Garland, of 3 Derwen Deg in Pontardawe, admitted selling scaffolding and a lorry belonging to dad Brian Cooper in June 2010 and pocketing the cash without his father’s knowledge.
Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told the court that on June 9, Garland sold £220 worth of scaffolding equipment to a rival firm.
The following day he sold the same firm another £800 worth of scaffolding and some days later sold another £600 worth of equipment.
Garland also sold his father’s Leyland DAF lorry for £600 on June 14.
Ammanford magistrates were told that Mr Cooper had been serving a jail term at the time of the thefts and was unaware of the sell-off.
Ms Vaughan told the court that Garland has been given the keys to his father’s business premises in Glanaman because the firm was facing mounting debts in Mr Cooper’s absence.
Garland had initially claimed he was selling off the equipment to meet outstanding rent arrears on the premises.
Hywel Davies, defending, told the court that Garland had worked for his father prior to the latter’s imprisonment.
“When his dad went into custody he was left running the unit,” said Mr Davies.
“Business went downhill and he started selling off the items to pay the bills.
“However he does accept that he did not give anything back to his father.”
The court was told that Garland had spent all the money raised on new clothes.
“His relationship with his father had now broken down because of this,” said Mr Davies.
Magistrates adjourned sentencing for the completion of probation reports, but told Garland that even though he could be sent to jail for the thefts, they would limit his sentence to a high-level community order.
Garland will next appear at Llanelli Magistrates Court on March 9 for sentencing.
Via: www.southwalesguardian.co.uk
Charges for having a skip on the road are being introduced while costs of putting up scaffolding and fences are to soar under council cuts in Wolverhampton.
Plans unveiled today show that Wolverhampton City Council is to charge for a licence to have a skip and people will have to pay £25 for a month and £15 to renew.
Residents who want an H-marking, a white mark which they can put on the street to remind drivers not to block their access, will have to pay £65 from April. It is currently free.
Hoarding and fence licences will more than double from £40 to £95 despite recommendations from consultants that they should be no more than £75.
Scaffolding and tower licences will almost double from £50 to £95.
Using Queen Square for promotions currently does not cost anything but everyone apart from charities will have to pay £75.
A charge for turning on and off traffic lights will be introduced at £100 per weekday, £350 Saturdays and £500 Sundays and bank holidays.
Companies which need to dig up the roads will have to pay £370, compared with £110 at present. It is estimated that the charges will bring in £72,000 a year for the council at a time when it is trying to save £36m over the next 12 months.
In a report, head of highways David Orton said: “The present financial situation makes it essential that the city council maximises its income so as to ensure that it recovers its costs for the services provided.
“Within the transportation service there has been no comprehensive review of highway related fees and charges for a number of years. Consequently there are many services where full cost recovery is not being achieved and also there are services where we have the option to charge but have not done so.”
The proposals will be put to the Labour cabinet of the council on Monday.
Opposition Conservative transport spokesman Councillor Paddy Bradley said today: “The money the council will make is peanuts in the grand scheme of things but it will be costly for businesses and could be off-putting for developers.”
Henry Carver, who this week launched the Wolverhampton Business Group to lobby for pro-business policies, said: “Anything that costs businesses more will be anti-jobs and anti-investment.”
Via: express and star
PORTSMOUTH — A Manchester scaffolding company committed four “serious” violations that led to the fall of a bricklayer at a Bow Street construction site, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
A settlement agreement between OSHA and Boston Ladder & Scaffolding Co. states the violations occurred Nov. 30 at the Martingale Wharf, a historic building currently under construction at 99 Bow St.
One OSHA violation states that each scaffold component was not capable of supporting, without failure, its own weight and at least four times the maximum intended load applied or transmitted to it. As a result of that finding, OSHA imposed a $2,450 fine.
Boston Ladder & Scaffolding also agreed to post notice of the OSHA finding and penalty near the accident site for a period of three days or until the violation is remedied.
OSHA also found the scaffolding company’s employees were not supervised by “a competent person qualified in scaffold erection, moving, dismantling or alteration.” For that “serious” violation, the company was fined $2,100.
A third violation with another $2,100 fine states the scaffolding company did not provide fall protection for employees.
The fourth violation states the Manchester company’s employees were not trained by a competent person and for that violation, it was fined an additional $2,100.
By terms of an agreement, the fines are due April 1 or they increase.
Emergency responders were called to the construction site the morning of Nov. 30 when a bricklayer fell through scaffolding to the ground, two stories below, where he was covered by fallen bricks and construction materials.
“Something gave way or fell,” Fire Capt. Bernie Marvin said at the time.
Marvin said the worker fell from one scaffolding, through a second one, then to the ground; a pan of mortar, scaffolding materials and a pile of bricks fell with and on top of him. The worker landed on a set of stairs with the bricks and boards, and it took responders about 15 minutes to free him from the debris.
“He was in a fair amount of pain,” Marvin said about the injured bricklayer, described as 37 years old and from Milford.
The worker was extricated, transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital and released later the same day.
Developers Butch and John Ricci have been working on the building as a part of a two-year demolition and construction project which is expected to include 52,000 square feet of mixed-use space on six floors overlooking the Piscataqua River.
The Riccis are working with contractor Mark McNabb, who previously told the Herald the worker suffered no permanent injuries and broke no bones.
According to OSHA’s Web site, “falls are the most frequent cause of fatalities at construction sites and annually account for one of every three construction-related deaths.”
OSHA cites 2007 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics noting that 442 construction workers died that year as a result of falling on the job.
Via: Seacoastonline
A CORONER recorded an open verdict into the death of a homeless man who died from a heroin overdose, as it could not be established who injected him.Jordan Burgess, left, leaving Derby Coroner's Court, is in prison for an unrelated offence.
Robert Mitchell, 33, was found dead at Milestone House shelter following a drug and alcohol binge. Derby Coroner’s Court heard the unemployed scaffolder got others to inject heroin into his neck, as he could not see to do it himself.
Mr Mitchell’s cousin, Jordan Burgess, also a resident at the shelter in Green Lane at the time of Mr Mitchell’s death, had been accused by Coroner Dr Robert Hunter of administering the fatal injection on June 4 last year.
Dr Hunter said evidence suggested it was “likely” the injection took place inside Mr Burgess’s room after 2am.
CCTV showed Mr Mitchell did not leave the room after that time, while Mr Burgess came and left on several occasions.
But during cross-examination, Mr Burgess, who is in prison for an unrelated offence, denied he administered the fatal injection.
“I did not inject Robert,” he said.
The inquest heard police found traces of heroin and an empty syringe wrapper inside the room, but could not find a needle or syringe.
Mr Burgess said he woke at about 9.30am to find Mr Mitchell unconscious and initially claimed he “straight away” alerted staff.
But CCTV footage showed him then leaving his room before reporting what had happened 18 minutes later.
Asked if he took the syringe or anything else from the room, or tidied it up prior to the police arriving, Mr Burgess said: “No.”
Dr Hunter said he could not record a verdict of unlawful killing as he could not be sure beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Burgess administered the fatal dose.
He said it was possible Mr Mitchell could have used a mirror, or located the vein using his hands, to inject himself.
There was also a 43-second period in which Mr Mitchell left the room at around 1am, in which he could have injected himself elsewhere in the building, accounting for no needle being found by police.
Dr Hunter said the uncertainty meant he could also not record a verdict of misadventure, as he could not be sure Mr Mitchell had injected himself.
“Therefore, the only verdict left available to me is an open verdict,” he said.
Suicide was also ruled out despite Mr Mitchell being “depressed” at not having access to his son.
Home Office pathologist Professor Guy Rutty said a combination of alcohol and drugs killed Mr Mitchell, whose “tolerance levels” to drugs could have been lowered during time he spent in prison prior to his death.
Via: www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk
A Scaffolder is currently having money deducted from his earnings after neglecting to fully pay a £4300 fine for careless driving and failing to attend a court hearing.The 30-year-old man from Aberdeen had admitted driving erratically at excessive speed, mounting a kerb and then driving through a fence and a garden before driving through a second fence.
He was fined at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2009, but after paying less than a quarter of the total, he stopped payment in April last year.
Following warning letters, Scottish Court Service Enforcement Officers took steps to serve an Earnings Arrestment Order on him and his employers are now making high monthly deductions from his wages to pay his fine directly to the Court.
A Scottish Court Service report published today shows that fine collection rates across Scotland remain high. Collection is pursued through effective enforcement measures which include arresting wages and bank accounts, deducting benefits and clamping cars.
To date, 20 cars have been clamped nationwide which has led to the majority of defaulters paying both their original fines in addition to clamping costs.
“Defaulters cannot escape their fines and we have robust enforcement measures in place to ensure payment is collected” said SCS Executive Director of Field Service, Eric McQueen.
“Since the first Fines Report released last year by the SCS, collection rates have risen steadily. People with outstanding fines are recognising more and more that there is nowhere to hide and they could be next.”
Other enforcement measures include tracing facilities which provide information on aliases, employment history, bank accounts and credit cards to identify defaulters quickly, and working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions to speed up benefit deductions.
Via: www.stv.tv
A giant frozen waterfall set up to welcome the Chinese New Year crushed one man to death and left five seriously injured when it collapsed as it melted in a sudden warm front.
The 30ft high sculpture came crashing down in Haerbin, Hei Longjiang province, north-eastern China, as workers began to dismantle it following the celebrations.
Eyewitness Lin Hu, 43, said: “I was passing by and then I heard a loud crack and then I saw lots of workers on the scaffolding falling off. You could see the ice had started to melt because there was water all over the ground.”
A town spokesman said: “One worker, Mi Xu, died in the collapse. We had just started to get it demolished when it fell apart.”
Scaffolding is set to arrive by Wednesday at the Golden Gate Bridge so workers can do something that has never been done since the span opened: renovate the massive main cables.The bridge — opened in 1937 — has two main cables that pass over the tops of the two main towers and are secured at either end in giant anchorages. They are the steel strings that hold the bridge together and support the roadway.
“We redid the vertical suspender cables in the 1970s and the roadway itself in the 1980s, but this is the first time the main cables will be renovated in this manner,” said Mary Currie, bridge district spokeswoman.
Each of the 3-foot diameter cables is made up of 27,572 individual galvanized steel wires wrapped inside a casing, which is painted for protection from the harsh elements. The length of one main cable is 7,650 feet, and 80,000 miles of individual wires were used in their construction. Along with the suspender cables and accessories, the main cables weigh 24,500 tons.
While the cables are tested for strength, they have not been completely painted in more than 70 years.
Once the scaffolding arrives midspan and is set up in the coming weeks, crews will embark on the three-year project, which will include cleaning the exterior of the main cable and roughing the surface so new sealing paint can be applied, as well as making any additional repairs.
The work will begin on the west side main cable. Scaffolding will be erected along the 400-foot-long segment from midspan south toward San Francisco. Workers will then work in 60-foot segments underneath a tarp that will keep lead paint chips coming off the cables from spreading.
They will spend up to six months renovating the 400-foot section. The scaffolding will be disassembled and reassembled along a 400-foot-long segment heading north from midspan toward Marin. Workers will then renovate that segment for another six months. In the coming two years, the rest of the cables will be renovated as well.
While this work is under way on the west side cable, the fixed scaffolding will reduce the west sidewalk width from 10 feet to seven feet for the 400-foot stretch. Bicyclists may be asked to walk their bikes through the work area.
The scaffolding is costing the district $100,000. Initially the district had planned to contract the work out at a cost of $30 million, but will now rely on its own workers for the project.
“This is a great project for us to take on in-house, especially in the face of the financial challenges that so many public agencies are facing,” said Denis Mulligan, bridge general manager.
Via: www.mercurynews.com
Engineering software specialist and developer of SMART Scaffolder, CADS has acquired C.A.S.E. (computer assisted scaffold estimating) software from Gary Day Associates Ltd of Keynsham, near Bristol. The acquisition confirms CADS’s place as the UKs leading professional scaffolding software company whose capabilities include software customisation, training, technical support ‘Hot-line’ and maintenance services.Gary Day and Associates and CADS
Engineering software specialist and developer of SMART Scaffolder, CADS has acquired C.A.S.E. (computer assisted scaffold estimating) software from Gary Day Associates Ltd of Keynsham, near Bristol. The acquisition confirms CADS’s place as the UKs leading professional scaffolding software company whose capabilities include software customisation, training, technical support ‘Hot-line’ and maintenance services.
The addition of the C.A.S.E. software means that CADS is able to meet a wider set of customer needs and presents CADS with a significant opportunity to grow its business in new markets. Over time CADS expects to fulfil future scaffolding software needs by delivering a compelling and industry-defining technology solution that meets a broader range of customer needs thus defining an even better future for the scaffolding industry both in the UK and abroad.
The combined scaffold software toolset boasts a broader set of software tools, services and solutions for estimating, quoting, designing, checking and drawing all manner of Scaffolding projects. Automatic checking forTG20 compliance is of particular benefit. CADS is committed to offering high quality, powerful and flexible scaffolding software that saves time and improves efficiency. Increased productivity through streamlined workflow is not the only benefit of the combined toolset which will also enable CADS to offer tighter integration of its applications.
With its 35 year history of supporting the UK construction industry and strong Structural Engineering heritage CADS is able to draw on its unique combination of technical expertise and market experience to develop innovative software solutions for scaffold estimating and scaffold design.
CADS works closely with its customers and the UK industry body, the NASC (National Access & Scaffolding Confederation) to ensure its products comply with current technical guidance, such as SG4 and TG20:08, and the HSE (Health and Safety Executive.) The first commercial version of C.A.S.E. was released in 1986. Written and developed ‘by Scaffolding People for Scaffolding People’ C.A.S.E. has been generating scaffolding quotations since 1986.
The C.A.S.E. program is designed to allow scaffolding estimators to quickly and efficiently generate a scaffolding quotation to the customer with little or no typing, and for them to be confident that the materials calculated, labour allowed and drawings produced, truly do reflect the scaffold to be built. CADS Sales Director Ian Chambers said “CADS recognises the strong equity of the C.A.S.E. and Gary Day Associates names and as a result will maintain it distinct from the CADS and SMART Scaffolder brands for the foreseeable future.
CADS will be committed to supporting the needs of C.A.S.E. users and the company will continue to work with all customers to define a future roadmap for its scaffolding software products.” CADS’ passion, creativity, and operational excellence mean customers receive the benefit of accelerating innovations in BIM (Building Information Modelling) that will change the way that scaffolders everywhere are experiencing and interacting with 3D digital information.
Building owners and main contractors alike are increasingly demanding that Scaffolding quotations and working plans, risk assessments and method statements are supported by high quality presentations including 3D images and AutoCAD drawings. C.A.S.E. and CADS customers ranging from sole traders through medium sized regional companies to national and global corporations, such as Cape Industrial Services and Harsco, benefit from powerful scaffold estimating programs that offer:
Accurate and consistent pricing across all types of works
Automatic TG20 compliance checking
Professional and detailed scaffolding quotations on company quotation forms
Labour assessed the way you want to price
Full and accurate loading lists for tube and fitting and system scaffolding such as cuplok
Detailed scaffolding drawings linked to AutoCAD & DXF files
Management reports and pricing controls
CADS Sales Director Ian Chambers said “The C.A.S.E. software fulfils a distinct role, is popular with its users and there are no plans to change that. Both companies’ product offerings work in parallel with each other and as a result many of our customers are already benefitting from using our product alongside Gary Day Associates’ software.” The addition of C.A.S.E. to the CADS product line emphasises the breadth and diversity of requirements. “With C.A.S.E. on board we can stop diverting valuable resource to compete with it and focus on creating even more value for our customers” said Chambers.
Via: Email (Press Release)
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Christian John Garland, of 3 Derwen Deg in Pontardawe, admitted selling scaffolding and a lorry belonging to dad Brian Cooper in June 2010 and pocketing the cash without his father’s knowledge.
Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told the court that on June 9, Garland sold £220 worth of scaffolding equipment to a rival firm.
The following day he sold the same firm another £800 worth of scaffolding and some days later sold another £600 worth of equipment.
Garland also sold his father’s Leyland DAF lorry for £600 on June 14.
Ammanford magistrates were told that Mr Cooper had been serving a jail term at the time of the thefts and was unaware of the sell-off.
Ms Vaughan told the court that Garland has been given the keys to his father’s business premises in Glanaman because the firm was facing mounting debts in Mr Cooper’s absence.
Garland had initially claimed he was selling off the equipment to meet outstanding rent arrears on the premises.
Hywel Davies, defending, told the court that Garland had worked for his father prior to the latter’s imprisonment.
“When his dad went into custody he was left running the unit,” said Mr Davies.
“Business went downhill and he started selling off the items to pay the bills.
“However he does accept that he did not give anything back to his father.”
The court was told that Garland had spent all the money raised on new clothes.
“His relationship with his father had now broken down because of this,” said Mr Davies.
Magistrates adjourned sentencing for the completion of probation reports, but told Garland that even though he could be sent to jail for the thefts, they would limit his sentence to a high-level community order.
Garland will next appear at Llanelli Magistrates Court on March 9 for sentencing.
Via: www.southwalesguardian.co.uk 
The 30-year-old man from Aberdeen had admitted driving erratically at excessive speed, mounting a kerb and then driving through a fence and a garden before driving through a second fence.
He was fined at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2009, but after paying less than a quarter of the total, he stopped payment in April last year.
Following warning letters, Scottish Court Service Enforcement Officers took steps to serve an Earnings Arrestment Order on him and his employers are now making high monthly deductions from his wages to pay his fine directly to the Court.
A Scottish Court Service report published today shows that fine collection rates across Scotland remain high. Collection is pursued through effective enforcement measures which include arresting wages and bank accounts, deducting benefits and clamping cars.
To date, 20 cars have been clamped nationwide which has led to the majority of defaulters paying both their original fines in addition to clamping costs.
“Defaulters cannot escape their fines and we have robust enforcement measures in place to ensure payment is collected” said SCS Executive Director of Field Service, Eric McQueen.
“Since the first Fines Report released last year by the SCS, collection rates have risen steadily. People with outstanding fines are recognising more and more that there is nowhere to hide and they could be next.”
Other enforcement measures include tracing facilities which provide information on aliases, employment history, bank accounts and credit cards to identify defaulters quickly, and working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions to speed up benefit deductions.
Via: www.stv.tv 
The bridge — opened in 1937 — has two main cables that pass over the tops of the two main towers and are secured at either end in giant anchorages. They are the steel strings that hold the bridge together and support the roadway.
“We redid the vertical suspender cables in the 1970s and the roadway itself in the 1980s, but this is the first time the main cables will be renovated in this manner,” said Mary Currie, bridge district spokeswoman.
Each of the 3-foot diameter cables is made up of 27,572 individual galvanized steel wires wrapped inside a casing, which is painted for protection from the harsh elements. The length of one main cable is 7,650 feet, and 80,000 miles of individual wires were used in their construction. Along with the suspender cables and accessories, the main cables weigh 24,500 tons.
While the cables are tested for strength, they have not been completely painted in more than 70 years.
Once the scaffolding arrives midspan and is set up in the coming weeks, crews will embark on the three-year project, which will include cleaning the exterior of the main cable and roughing the surface so new sealing paint can be applied, as well as making any additional repairs.
The work will begin on the west side main cable. Scaffolding will be erected along the 400-foot-long segment from midspan south toward San Francisco. Workers will then work in 60-foot segments underneath a tarp that will keep lead paint chips coming off the cables from spreading.
They will spend up to six months renovating the 400-foot section. The scaffolding will be disassembled and reassembled along a 400-foot-long segment heading north from midspan toward Marin. Workers will then renovate that segment for another six months. In the coming two years, the rest of the cables will be renovated as well.
While this work is under way on the west side cable, the fixed scaffolding will reduce the west sidewalk width from 10 feet to seven feet for the 400-foot stretch. Bicyclists may be asked to walk their bikes through the work area.
The scaffolding is costing the district $100,000. Initially the district had planned to contract the work out at a cost of $30 million, but will now rely on its own workers for the project.
“This is a great project for us to take on in-house, especially in the face of the financial challenges that so many public agencies are facing,” said Denis Mulligan, bridge general manager.
Via: www.mercurynews.com 