Works are being carried out at South Cliff Gardens which is included on The Historic England ‘Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.’ The aim of the scheme is to rejuvenate the existing South Cliff Gardens and restore them to their former glory.
The scheme has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £4,665,700 with an additional £105,000 also being raised by local community groups.
Overview of the Works
The aim of this scheme is to rejuvenate the existing South Cliff Gardens and restore them to their former glory. The scheme has received substantial funds from the National Lottery Community and Heritage Funds with money also being raised by local community groups.
The full project comprises of the construction of a new maintenance and community hub, along with general refurbishment and landscaping upgrades to the existing South Cliff Park. The project also includes refurbishment work to the existing tunnel, currently closed off to the public under the funicular railway. The works will be split into 4 Phases.
Construction Works to Date (June 26th – July 23rd)
One of the first parts of the project was the demolition of the existing depot and maintenance building in the gardens to make room for the construction of the new Beeforth’s Hive Community Building. Progress is continuing on the construction of the new building and during the past month has included:
- Steel work base plates shuttered and poured with grout.
- All footing blocks laid to the building and cavity walls built to accommodate block and beam floor level and wooden joist levels.
- Soak away dug out and lined with terram. Gravel also installed.
- Block and beam floor laid.
- Water main trench dug and new main laid ready for connection for diversion.
- Land drain laid around the building, work ongoing on the remainder of the drainage.
- Ground level reduced on footway ready for the widening of the path.
- Block works continuing on the building.
Progress has also been continuing on the steps in Area 22 (located on the south side of the Cliff Lift) and Area 18 (located immediately behind the Clock Café).
Area 22 Steps Progress
- Excavation of existing footway and steps.
- Setting out of footway width (which goes into the cliff wall) and retaining wall (which digs into the cliff face).
- Dug out all in front of tunnel to correct level. Asbestos found in dig safely removed by approved contractor.
- Exposed footway stoned up with Type 1 stone and compacted.
- Scaffold set up to enable access to retaining wall and strimmer used to cut back vegetation ready for inspection.
- Trial holes dug on top of the wall and inspected.
Area 18 Steps Progress
- Area fenced off and footway closure put in place.
- Installation of new handrail next to the steps.
- Boulders installed and all crazy paving completed on two stages.
- Completed areas tidied up with soil.
Tunnel on the North Side of the Cliff Lift Progress
Area marked out and fenced off with footway diversions. Started dig in area to new footway.
- Buried steps found in front of the tunnel, all of which have been exposed.
- Fencing next to Cliff Lift removed and dig to expose existing drainage to be removed completed.
- All steps exposed and manhole removed to be rebuilt.
- Existing footways saw cut and dug out to install concrete footing for new setts. Concrete footings installed up to Spa Steps.
Elsewhere on site, progress is ongoing with the restoration works on shelter numbers 1, 8 and 13.
Shelter 1 Progress
- The erection of heras fencing around the shelter to ensure safe clearance for pedestrians.
- Exterior scaffolding erected around the shelter to create safe works access.
- Removal of tree at the rear of the shelter (carried out in full compliance with ecology and environmental legislation) and two metre wide strip of vegetation cut back around the perimeter of the shelter.
- Roof removed and shelter inspected.
- Hand digging of a trench around the shelter in readiness for new drainage installation.
Shelter 8 Progress
- Foundations dug out and concreted.
- Roof end removed of all timber.
- Windows measured for replacements.
- Steelwork installation now underway.
Shelter 13 Progress
- Footway to the shelter closed for safety reasons (the footway ends at the shelter).
- Two metre wide strip of vegetation removed around the perimeter of the shelter.
- Exterior scaffolding erected around the shelter to create safe works access.
- Shingles removed from shelter roof followed by an inspection.
Clock Tower Progress
Exterior scaffolding has been erected around the tower to create safe works access whilst heras fencing has also been erected to ensure safe clearance for pedestrians. A survey of the tower has been completed and restoration work will proceed once the results of that have been determined.
PBS support Rainbow Centre with food bank donation
Engaging with local charities is something we’re very keen on and we recently linked up with the Rainbow Centre in Scarborough to help support the food bank that they run.
Throughout June we held a collection amongst the PBS staff based on the project at South Cliff Gardens and also across the rest of the business. We then collated all of the donations before everything was loaded into a van and delivered to the Rainbow Centre in early July.
PBS Community Manager, Brendon Smurthwaite, commented:
“The issue of so many people being in food poverty is a big one which is why we chose to hold a food bank collection for the Rainbow Centre. We know about the great work they do locally and wanted to support that, especially with the current circumstances surrounding the pandemic.
“It was great to see people from across our business getting involved and hopefully the donations we’ve made will help to make a difference.”
Trish Kinsella, Centre Manager, added:
“We are so grateful to all the staff at PBS for the food donations. It will really help us to support people who are facing very difficult times, including many who are isolating and unable to work.”
James starting his apprenticeship
In the last issue of our newsletter we brought you a story about a young man called James who was joining our site team on South Cliff Gardens for a work experience placement.
Wanting to pursue a career in the construction industry, James had joined the Scarborough Skills Village where he completed the Build Up programme before looking for an opportunity to work out on site.
That opportunity came through PBS and we’re delighted to say that after making a huge impression during his placement with the company, James has now been taken on as an apprentice. As well as continuing to be part of our site team on the South Cliff Gardens project, he’ll also be working towards his Level 2 Groundworks qualification.
Glenn Smurthwaite, Managing Director at PBS, said:
“It’s great to have James on board. When he came to us on work experience, everyone was hugely impressed by his attitude, work ethic and willingness to learn. We felt that during that time he earned the right to
be given an opportunity and were more than happy to offer that. As a company we’re always keen to give the next generation a chance to get started in their career and I’m sure James will continue to thrive now he’s on board full time. I’d also like to thank the Scarborough Skills Village as they recommended James for work experience.
“We have a very good relationship with them and hopefully will be able to continue to work together going forward.”
Jenna Redmond, Employer Engagement Officer at the Skills Village, added:
“It’s fantastic to see James going from strength to strength. I’ve been working with him over the past few months and seeing him out on site working with PBS is very rewarding. James has really come out of his shell, is working hard and has settled in really well with the team at PBS.”
James is pictured with Alan, one of our site managers on the South Cliff Gardens project.
Getting involved with NCS
We were recently given an opportunity to get involved with the national youth programme, NCS (National Citizen Service). The programme is for 16 and 17-year-olds and aims to empower young people, help them build confidence, make new friends and learn lots of new skills.
As part of the programme, the young people are tasked with planning and delivering a social action project in their local community. To help them formulate ideas for that, an event was held at The Street in Scarborough where a number of charities and businesses were invited along to chat with the young people.
Our Community Manager, Brendon Smurthwaite, went along to represent PBS and met five groups of participants to discuss potential ideas for their social action projects. Brendon also returned later that week to be part of a ‘Dragon’s Den’ panel which listened to and fed back on project pitches from the different groups.
A vote was then taken from the ‘Dragons’, the students (they couldn’t vote for their own project) and the NCS staff to see which project would be taken forward for the whole team to work on.
Brendon said: “It was a pleasure to be invited to and involved in both events. NCS is a great way for young people to get involved in something productive which makes a real difference in their local community.
“Delivering a pitch is a quite a nerve-wracking experience for a lot of people and all of the young people who took part should be really proud of themselves. Hopefully they’ll all take plenty from being involved in NCS and will look back on it as a very positive experience.”
Anna-mae from the NCS programme added:
“It was wonderful to be able to have support from PBS at both the carousel workshop and within the pitches. Having this support enabled our young people to find out more about their local community and grow in confidence as they spoke to people about their job roles. Having Brendon attend the pitch provided a friendly face for the young people to present their ideas to, and gave them the opportunity to develop their skillsets in public speaking, communication, teamwork and develop their self-esteem. We are incredibly thankful to Brendon for attending and helping shape our young peoples’ experience!”
Considerate Constructors Scheme
This project has been registered under the Considerate Constructors Scheme, which means that we will agree to abide by the Code of Considerate best practice beyond statutory requirements. Alongside this we have registered with The Considerate Constructors Scheme who are working with the Lighthouse Club, the Construction Industry Charity to promote the Construction Industry Helpline. The Construction Industry Helpline operates 24/7 and provides practical support on occupational health and mental wellbeing, access to support on legal, tax and debt management matters and also grants emergency financial aid to construction families in crisis.
Meet the PBS Site Team
| NAME | ROLE / CONTACT NUMBER |
| ANDREW THORLEY | PROJECT MANAGER 07834 651678 |
| ALAN CLARKE | CIVILS SITE MANAGER 07813 536660 |
Supported By
| NAME | ROLE |
| PETER SMURTHWAITE | CHAIRMAN |
| GLENN SMURTHWAITE | MANAGING DIRECTOR |
| MARK BROOKS | COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR |
| CONNOR COOPER | QUANTITY SURVEYOR |
| BRENDON SMURTHWAITE | COMMUNITY LIAISON MANAGER 01482 211132 |
| DANNY LONG | HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGER |
| AIMEE FRITH | QUALITY & SOCIAL VALUE LEAD |
Live Performance Program 2021
Drop-in Sessions
We will be holding monthly drop-in sessions throughout the project on the last Thursday of each month. Our next two sessions will be held on July 29th & August 26th (both 1:00 to 3:00pm) at the Crown Spa Hotel which is situated on The Esplanade in Scarborough (postcode: YO11 2AG). If anyone has any queries regarding the project they’ll be more than welcome to come along.
Community Liaison Manager Contact Details
Brendon Smurthwaite
Community Liaison Manager
PBS Construction (North East) Ltd
1 Trinity Street, Hull, HU3 1JR
Office: 01482 211132
Email: brendon.smurthwaite@pbsconstruction.co.uk
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