Kent paper mill falls to Lee Demolition

Lee Demolition has completed the £3.5 million (US$6.8 million) New Hythe paper mill demolition on behalf of client SCA New Hythe Packaging and Paper, a subsidiary of Swedish paper company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA).

The nine month contract was completed by a railway bridge lift carried out under rail-track possession. The demolition included the mill and associated warehousing, and was carried out using a traditional top-down demolition approach. Lee also carried out preliminary extensive asbestos removal and decommissioning work in conjunction with SCA's closure team.

On the contract, a 99% recycling rate was achieved for demolition waste, which was used as backfill, compacted into machinery pits and other voids. A recycling and power generation facility is to be constructed on the cleared site.

According to Lee Demolition director Dave Jameson: "This was a complex project comprising of heavy structures constructed from both steel and concrete frames which tested our fleet of demolition plant to the maximum. Our continued inward investment in demolition high-tech plant and demolition attachments demolished and processed the arising materials in record time."

"We worked closely with Network Rail to minimise disruption in the final lifting of the railway bridge and we were happy to hand over the site to SCA on time and to budget."