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.
Construction Works to Date (January 29th – February 25th)
Progress has continued to be made on the construction of the new community building within the gardens, ‘Beeforth’s Hive’. During the past month the progress has included:
- All block work now complete and cavity fully cleaned
- Roof fully installed (awaiting on capping for top)
- Building wrapped and timber batons installed
- Internal scaffold removed, timber floor and insulation fully installed
- All stud work and plasterboards installed, and ceilings
- All windows, doors and cills installed
- 1st fix of electric works complete and 90 per cent of plumbing completed
- Garage floor poured and power floated
- 85 per cent of all cladding installed
- 95 per cent of log walling installed
Tunnel Works Progress
- Brick samples approved and replaced
- Tunnel floor all dug out and brick arch exposed. Remaining Helical bars installed
- All ducting and ACO drainage installed. Water main lowered and sockets for up lighting installed; cables pulled into sockets
- Floor mesh and dowels installed, slab poured
Area 16 Steps Progress
- Started removing all landings and steps
- Re-used all treads and new stone installed on the risers
- 95 per cent of steps and landings complete with new boulders installed
Southern Footway near the Clock Café/Sunken Garden
- Dry stone walling now installed in various locations and around the Sunken Garden
- All gullies in the area cleaned and jetted
- All setts in the area installed and pointed up
- Sunken Garden dug out, stripped and set out for approval
Italian Gardens Progress
- All steps in front of Shelter 5 removed and inspected
- Trenching work ongoing to install metal rail for resining surface
Esplanade Railings & Gates Progress
- Removed Egyptian and Belvedere Gates
- Set up scaffold and removed 90m of the metal railings. Around 30m of railings have now been reinstalled
- Area all fenced off
- Egyptian Gates now reinstalled
- Belvedere Gate pillar now repointed
Phase 3 Footways (Italian Gardens to Putting Green) Progress
- Areas dug out and concrete foundations laid in putting green area
- Setts and boulders laid in Italian Gardens up to Shelter 6
- Setts now laid around putting green and back towards the Clock Tower
Shelter 1 Progress
- Cut out timbers and replaced with new. Tongue & Groove match boarding removed and placed. New window sills installed
- All new roof timbers installed, including fascia and soffit at the rear
- Wall re-pointed, new lats and damp proof course installed and all cladding put back on
- All benches installed with new timber legs and section of seating replaced with new due to rot and fire damage
- Timber treatment complete
- Roof felted and battoned and all tiles installed; just awaiting hip tiles
Shelter 2 Progress
- All steel work now fitted
- Tongue & Groove match boarding now complete and installation of internal bench complete
- All concrete trenches now complete
- Internal roof works 95 per cent complete. External roof felted and battoned; tiling 75 percent complete
Shelter 4 Progress
- Roof stripped
- Full pergola removed and stripped
Shelter 18 (new toilet block) Progress
- Scaffold installed and Heras fencing installed around the building
- All shelters now fully stripped out
- Roof inspected
- All timber cladding on building removed
- Plywood soffit and all internal ceilings also removed
- Roof fully stripped and re-felted with batons installed
- Installing new fascia boards due to rot on existing ones
Elsewhere across the project, work is continuing on:
- Shelter numbers 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12
- Area 18 Steps
- Area 19 Steps
- The Clock Tower
- Footways north of the tunnel
- Land drainage
- Area 22 steps & footway
February Site Tour
We hosted our regular site tour for the public towards the end of February and despite the freezing temperatures, 20 members of the public came along to be shown some of the progress being made on the project. There were some familiar faces, but also a good amount of first time visitors which was great to see as well.
Andy Thorley (PBS Project Manager), Neil Holland (PBS Heritage Joiner) and Brendon Smurthwaite (PBS Community Manager) led the tour which included a look at the new community building, the Sunken Garden, Shelter 4 and the ongoing work on the new accessible toilet block situated behind the Clock Café. The tunnel under the Cliff Lift understandably continues to be a major point of interest so the tour was ended with a walk down to see the
progress being made there. Everyone who came along seemed to have a great afternoon and we look forward to doing it all again on Thursday March 31st!
Litter pick with ‘Keep Scarborough Tidy’
Having previously conducted our own litter picks, we’ve now teamed up with local group ‘Keep Scarborough Tidy’ and will be helping them every month. Our first collaboration was at the start of February when Brendon Smurthwaite (PBS Community Manager) joined volunteers from the group on a two hour pick of the gardens and immediate surrounding areas. A great job was done by all and we’ll be back out with our litter pickers again this month.
Getting to know……Brendon Smurthwaite
Each month in this newsletter we’ll be shining the spotlight on a member of the PBS site staff working on the restoration project. This month it’s the turn of Brendon Smurthwaite, PBS’s Community Manager, to step into the spotlight.
Q. How did you get into construction and can you outline your role at PBS? I only came into construction about a year ago; the business needed a community manager (which is a new role for the business) and I have a background in that area so it seemed like good fit.
Q. If you hadn’t have chosen construction, which career path might you have followed? As I mentioned in the previous question, I’ve only been in the industry for a short time. After my A-levels
I went on to study journalism and worked on the Sports Desk at the Hull Daily Mail as a junior writer before moving on to work for a national football website, ZOO Football, in the early 2000’s. From there I went into professional sport, working as a Press Officer with Hull City Football Club for ten years before taking on the same role with Hull KR (rugby league club) in the Super League. After two and a half years I then decided I needed a change of career and joined KC (telephone and broadband provider in Hull) as their Community Coordinator. I had seven really enjoyable years there before joining PBS in January 2021. Although my job roles have varied down the years they’re all interlinked really.
Q. What would your advice be to a young person looking to go into construction? I think my advice would be the same for young people looking to go into any career really. You need to work hard, try and get some experience in the area that you want to go into and then continually put yourself forward for opportunities. In the short time I’ve been with PBS we’ve recruited a couple of apprentices and I’ve said to them that there’s no substitute for working hard, listening and having that willingness to learn.
Q. What has been the most interesting project you’ve worked on? Definitely this one! I’d never been to the gardens before but having been part of this project for the past ten months I’ve learned a fair amount about them and the history is fascinating.
Q. Tell us an interesting fact about yourself. I interviewed Samantha Janus for the year 2000 Rugby League World Cup website; she was involved in the official launch of the tournament. It was nerve-wracking but I managed to get a photo which I still have to prove I met her!
Q. What type of music do you have on in your car? I like a lot of 90’s music such as Oasis, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Metallica, Stereophonics; that kind of genre really. Absolute Radio plays a lot from that era so I tend to have that on in the car.
Q. How do you fill your spare time? I’ve been involved in amateur football for a long time and help to run a men’s Saturday League team. I also follow Hull FC (rugby league club) home and away and take my 8-year-old son with me as often as possible; he’s picked up the family trait of being massively into sport! If we’re not at a sports fixture then we like to have family days out. I also like to read a lot, too.
Q. What is your ideal meal? I reckon it’d be prawn cocktail for starter, fillet steak (well done) with chips for main and then chocolate fudge cake and cream for dessert.
Monthly Site Tour
We will be hosting a monthly site tour on the last Thursday of every month throughout the duration of the project. Our next tour will be held between 1-2pm on Thursday March 31st. All are welcome. Anyone who would like to come on the tour should meet at the Clock Tower just before 1pm. Please note that these tours will include walking on uneven paths and surfaces, inclines and steps and may be unsuitable for those with mobility issues.
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.
On our last considerate constructor inspection we were delighted to achieve an impressive score of 39 out of 45.
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 / QUANTITY SURVEYOR |
| BRENDON SMURTHWAITE | COMMUNITY LIAISON MANAGER 01482 211132 |
| DANNY LONG | HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGER |
| AIMEE FRITH | QUALITY & SOCIAL VALUE LEAD |
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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