Cawarden clears former Palfinger UK brownfield site for housing construction to begin one of the country’s first ‘Garden Cities’.

The site of the former Palfinger UK Headquarters consisted of two 2-storey office blocks, a filling station and multiple light industrial units. All of this needed to be cleared on behalf of a housing developer client, Crest Nicholson, to create one of the country’s first ‘Garden Cities’ located in Welwyn Garden City.  

All slabs, foundations and footings were removed following the demolition works. Providing our client with a full turnkey service, we also removed several underground tanks near the old forecourt – these were exposed, cleaned and removed. Several ground contamination hotspots were also marked up as part of the client’s remediation strategy.

All bricks and concrete were crushed to 6f2 by our mobile crusher and left on-site for reuse into the new development.

Noise, dust and vibration monitoring was in place throughout the works. A live substation was located on the site which had to be suitably protected.

The Cawarden team assisted archaeologists with their research at the site so several trenches were dug as part of the watching brief.

To complete the project, we levelled the site in readiness for the commencement of the construction works.

Our work on the project was completed in March 2020, providing the large brownfield site with a beneficial after-use, renewed economic prosperity and community benefits. The site will become home to a traditional mix of 1 & 2 bedroom apartments and 2, 3 & 4 bedroom houses.