TITLE TEXT HERE Whiteleys Shopping Centre In 1863, William Whiteley opened his first goods store with a vision of providing a shopping destination where almost anything could be bought. By 1890, Whiteley employed over 6,000 staff. Succeeded by his two sons, in 1925 the Whiteleys Shopping Centre in Bayswater was constructed, complete with its iconic domed ceilings and collonaded façade. The building was designated a Grade II listed building in 1970. The Whiteleys development rejuvenated the shopping centre and its surroundings by providing new restaurants, retail space, accommodation, and a new hotel. The new facilities, tied together by an open air courtyard, were to be accessed through the historic Whiteleys entrance. Upon completion, over 100 new homes would be created, as well as improved parking access, gym and cinema facilities and over 50 hotel rooms. Erith commenced works on-site in January 2019. Since then, we have made significant progress and completed the demolition work successfully. Trees around the Whiteleys building had to be carefully removed from the site by a specialist contractor to allow access to the structure for plant and equipment. The removed trees were returned to the site when the development reached its conclusion. Multiple soft-strip teams carried out the removal of third-party assets which were left in the shopping centre. Materials were processed on-site for recycling and hauling to our waste management facility. A key activity to complete early in the works was the demolition of the rear car park, allowing a greater footprint for material storage, processing and plant movement. Installation of temporary works was carried out to protect the façade of the shopping centre, as well as titan props to ensure the structural stability of floors for when the excavator was used during the top-down demolition. One of the main challenges of this project was the protection and removal of the iconic features of the building. Erith successfully removed the windows from the Queensway and Porchester Gardens façade, the roof domes and the famous spiral staircase. These have been safely removed from the site and will be kept and reinstated as key features of the new development. Additionally, all stonework removed to enable the demolition works were individually numbered and stored off-site. The main demolition of the shopping centre commenced later in the year and involved the top-down demolition of the internal structure to ground level. Following this, the basement excavation and piling works were carried out before handing the site over to the Main Contractor for the next phase of the redevelopment. Erith engaged with a local school, Hallfield Primary School, donating funds to help support new facilities. Erith hosted an art competition, with the children painting pictures of local landmarks and places of significance with a selection of winners having their artwork displayed on the perimeter of our site hoarding. Location: Bayswater, London SE16