RESPONDING TO EMERGENCY & ONGOING SCAFFOLD NEEDS AT VICTORIA MILL

Victoria Mill in Grimsby is an iconic building that dominates the skyline of Grimsby. It is a  Grade II listed former flourmill, warehouse and office complex built between 1889 and 1906.

Part of the building was converted to flats in the 1990’s but the large silo tower was not converted and over the decades has suffered from structural problems that has resulted in the national architectural charity, the Victorian Society, including Victoria Mills on its 2016 list of Top Ten Endangered buildings in England and Wales.

Urgent Scaffold Work Required

In February 2016 residents of the Victoria Mill flats were evacuated from their homes as high winds caused ‘critical movement’ in the middle, tall section of the main silo building. The main road was closed and residents moved into temporary accommodation whilst North East Lincolnshire Council engaged the scaffold services of PMC Scaffold & Access to make the building safe.

The scale, age and vulnerable nature of this building has necessitated a complex scaffold project with multiple stages.

Stage 1
The initial urgent need was to put up inspection scaffold and make safe for the public and any workers on the building

Stage 2
The inside of the silo has no internal floors or structures which had weakened the integrity of the building. It was our job to fill the inside with scaffold that would provide stability for the building including boarding. The building holds a mammoth 300 tonnes of scaffold!

Stage 3
Inspection of the building resulted in the need for extensive repointing of the external brickwork and external scaffold was needed to allow this work to be carried out. PMC chose to invest in the PLETTAC METRIX system to facilitate this part of the works due to its safe installation methods and speed of install.

Stage 4
Making the gable ends safe was then required with beam sections to secure.

Victoria Mill is one of our largest and most complex projects not only for its scale, but also because of the fragile nature of the building and the requirements of Grade II listing. The project is a dynamic one with repair work uncovering new challenges and requirements, but by working closely with North East Lincolnshire Council and Lindum Construction we were able to make good use of our expertise and experience.