Works are being carried out at South Cliff Garden 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 (August 21st – September 17th)
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:
- Ongoing block work. Awaiting delivery of roller shutter frames at the end of September
- Digging out for new manholes and ducting completed. Installation of new gullies, pipework and manholes ongoing. Ducting routes agreed
- Wall plates, joist hangers and joists all installed
- Stone installed around the building to level
Area 19 Steps Progress
- Landings dug out and stoned up to correct levels
- All landings paved, gullies cleaned out and reset to levels. Pointing up on paving also completed
- Steps shuttered and poured. All steps pointed up where required
Southern Footway near the Clock Café
- Saw cutting carried out on the footways past the Clock Café up to the site of Beeforth’s Hive
- Digging out started for footings and new setts
- Concreting completed for footings ready for sett installation
Shelter 2 Progress
- Roof tiles removed (taken back to compound) and as much timber as possible retained with the shelter being a listed building
- Timber cladding and benches removed to expose rear wall
- Removal of timber posts and new timbers spliced in
- Trenches dug out inside the shelter and blinded out ready for steel work
Shelter 6 Progress
- Roof removed and area power washed
- Shelter inspection completed
- Render removed from around the shelter, along with rainwater guttering and downpipes
- Creation of new roof beam now complete
- Wall plate installed and pier mould made for repairs
Meanwhile, shelters 9, 11 and 12 have been scaffolded, ready for the removal of the roof on each one. The appropriate footway closures and diversions have also been put in place for this.
Elsewhere across the project, work is continuing on:
- Shelter numbers 1, 5, 8, 10 & 13
- The area adjacent to the tunnel on the north side of the cliff lift
- The Clock Tower
Heritage Open Days Tours
We were very proud to be involved in the national ‘Heritage Open Days’ programme by hosting two site tours on September 15th. The programme sees heritage, community and history celebrated across the country and alongside Scarborough Borough Council we played our part by giving members of the public a behind-the scenes look at the restoration works on the gardens.
Alan Clarke (Site Manager), Gideon Ghio (Site Supervisor) and Brendon Smurthwaite (Community Manager) were joined by Gemma Alexander (Community Engagement Officer for South Cliff Gardens) to deliver the tours which 40 people attended across the two sessions.
Alan and Gideon gave insight into the work being completed on the shelters and footpaths, whilst also bringing everyone up to date regarding the construction of the new ‘Beeforth’s Hive’ community building. The tours ended with an opportunity to hear all about how the tunnel running under the cliff lift will be reopened and put back into use for the first time in many years.
Brendon Smurthwaite, Community Manager at PBS, said:
“It was a real pleasure for us to be able to get involved in Heritage Open Days and really show people the works in progress on the restoration of the gardens. To see so many members of the public sign up for the tours was great and the feedback we received afterwards was that everyone who came along enjoyed themselves and found it to be a very useful insight. Many thanks to Gemma (Alexander) for organising and supporting the tours as well.”
Taking part in ‘Great Big Green Week’
The ‘Great Big Green Week’ was held nationally recently and we were more than happy to get involved. The initiative focuses on communities taking action to tackle climate change and protect green spaces and we played our part by undertaking a litter pick on the South Cliff Gardens. Danny Long (Health & Safety Manager) and Brendon Smurthwaite (Community Manager) were joined by Gemma Alexander (South Cliff Gardens Community Engagement Officer) with a fair amount of litter being collected. Going forward, we will be holding a litter pick once a month as we endeavour to keep the gardens as tidy as we can throughout the duration of the project.
Monthly site tour to replace drop-in session
From next month onwards (October) we will be replacing our monthly drop-in sessions held at the Crown Spa Hotel with a monthly site tour. After discussions with Scarborough Borough Council we both felt that hosting the site tours would give members of the public an opportunity to see the project ‘as live’ and will provide a better, more informative, experience. The site tours will be held on the last Thursday of every month (starting on Thursday October 28th) between 1-2pm with everybody welcome. The meeting point will be the Clock Tower on the Esplanade. 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.
Getting to know……Neil Holland
Each month in this newsletter we’ll be shining the spotlight on a member of the PBS site staff working on the gardens. Our heritage joiner, Neil Holland, is the first person to step into the spotlight!
Q. How did you get into joinery and can you outline your role at PBS?
I left school at the age of 16 and went straight into a joinery and carpentry apprenticeship. It was a four year course at a local joiners’ workshop with one day a week at Hull College. I completed the course with three merits and City and Guilds award. My job role within the company is predominantly as a formwork joiner but with my early joinery background I am not fazed by any building project.
Q. If you hadn’t have chosen joinery, what career path might you have followed?
A. I also wanted to be a mechanic as I liked anything with engines at school, but I couldn’t be in a garage all day as I like being outdoors.
Q. What would your advice be to a young person is looking to go into joinery?
A. For any young person who is looking to become a joiner I’d say if you have a natural talent with your hands, go for it. If later in life you decide to change career, you’ll still have the skill set if you want to go back to joinery.
Q. What has been the most interesting project you’ve worked on?
One of my interesting jobs was during the year we had the ‘Beast from the East’ weather front. I was working on the sea defence project at Paull (near Hull) which involved lots of shuttering, formwork and concrete and we were turning up for work each day hoping the sea hadn’t taken it away! It was a challenge with the weather and time scale but the project was completed on time.
Q. Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
A. Early in my life I always wanted to have a rally car, and I remember the days I rushed home from school to watch the RAC rally on TV. I did actually build my own rally car years later having some good results.
Q. What type of music do you have on in your van?
A. The music of choice in my vehicle has to be 80’s and early 90’s rock.
Q. How do you fill your spare time?
My pastime is repairing/restoring rare classic cars from the 1960’s to the 1980’s, as well as vintage tractors. I also still find time to help out on local rally events.
Q. What is your ideal meal?
A. To keep me going I don’t like fancy food; it has to be a steak pie with decent gravy and a real ale.
Many thanks to Neil for agreeing to go under the spotlight. If you haven’t seen them yet, you may want to have a look at the two videos we’ve filmed with Neil where he gives a valuable insight into some of the works he’s carrying out on the shelter restorations. You can find them at the following links:
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 October 28th and all are welcome. Anyone who would like to come on the tour should meet at the Clock Tower just before 1pm.
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 |
| 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 |
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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