Giant excavator to 'nibble' away unsafe building

An excavator with a 33-metre reach will be used to "nibble down" the remains of a partially collapsed derelict building in Bradford city centre.

Emergency crews were called to reports of an unsafe structure in Dale Street at about 06:50 GMT on 15 December.

The road has remained cordoned off ever since, with demolition experts Jennings of Pudsey in charge of the clear up and making the structure safe.

Boss Charles Jennings said the large, high-reach excavator was necessary to remove an unstable exterior wall which was left leaning after the collapse and would "nibble the building down piecemeal, a bit at a time".

"What's initially fallen into the road, we've cleared all that up to give us access," he said.

"Now we're waiting for a police escort for the high-reach machine and we're going to reduce the height of the building.

"It's a large, excavator machine where we're not working at height. The machine is doing the work."

The contractor said the machine had a 33-metre reach and was based in Pudsey, Leeds. It required a police escort to be moved on public highways.

Jennings said the location of the site also made the job more difficult.

"If the job was in the middle of nowhere, it wouldn't be a problem," he said.

"The difficulty is the narrowness of the streets, they were made for horses and carts, not wagons and machines."

Flats on the opposite side of the road were evacuated and alternative accommodation has been found for the tenants by their landlord, according to Bradford Council.

A council spokesperson said it was the collapsed building owner's responsibility to ensure the site was safe.

A planning application for the restoration of the structure was submitted in February 2024 by A&J Investment Management Limited.

The BBC has tried to contact the firm's sole director, Amar Hussain, at an address in Belle Vue in Bradford, for a comment.

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