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Manchester-based demolition contractor P.P. O’Connor has released an official statement following Friday’s partial collapse of a building surrounded by scaffolding in the city centre.
The incident occurred at Alberton House, on St Mary’s Parsonage off Bridge Street, at around 2:00pm on Friday, 24 October, during planned demolition works.
In a statement shared on Monday, the company confirmed that the collapse followed an “unforeseen structural failure associated with a latent defect in the building” discovered a week earlier.
“On Friday 24th October at approximately 2.00 pm, we had a structural collapse at a site in Manchester, this follows encountering an unforeseen structural failure associated with a latent defect in the building one week ago,” the company said.
Contingency plans in place
According to P.P. O’Connor, demolition work had been halted on 17 October to allow independent structural engineers to assess the situation and develop contingency measures in case of further collapse.
“Demolition works then continued maintaining a strict exclusion zone in anticipation of such an event,” the statement continued.
“We are pleased to confirm that our contingency plans were observed and instigated at the time of the collapse and there have been no injuries to our workforce or members of the public. The resulting debris associated with the collapse was fully contained within the footprint of the site.”
Investigations ongoing
The company said it is now working closely with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Manchester City Council’s Building Control team to ensure the site remains safe as demolition continues.
The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC), which represents the UK scaffolding industry, also urged caution following early reports linking the collapse to scaffolding.
“It is too early to comment if this incident is the result of a failure of the scaffolding,” NASC said in a statement to Scaffmag. “Scaffolding, when properly built and maintained, should not fail.”
No injuries were reported in the incident, which prompted a significant emergency response and temporary evacuations of nearby offices.
The building, a 1970s office block overlooking the River Irwell, was being demolished to make way for three new skyscrapers as part of a major redevelopment project.
P.P. O’Connor added that safety remains its “highest priority” and that the firm will continue to cooperate fully with authorities.
