Benchmark Scaffolding was appointed by Kier to provide an access scaffold for fire safety improvement works to two occupied 12-storey residential tower blocks, Manor House and Trinity House, constructed in the 1960s and located above the Ridings Shopping Centre in central Wakefield. The works required a full perimeter access scaffold to both buildings while maintaining public safety and resident access. The scaffold facilitated external wall insulation, involving the removal of the existing render and a full reclad with a new compliant system, together with window replacement.

The city-centre location created significant technical challenges, with the buildings positioned above a live shopping precinct that had to remain fully operational. Due to strict loading limits on the roof and no option for back-propping, four heavy duty scaffold support towers were installed to each corner of the buildings. An RMD Truss system was then installed to span approx. 25m between the towers on the North and South elevations. These beams formed the primary foundation for the access scaffold above and were lifted into place by crane during a series of carefully planned night operations with temporary road closures.

On the East and West elevations, scaffold was erected up to first-floor level using a combination of independent scaffolds and beam work to avoid underground services, shopfronts, resident entrances, pedestrian routes and the remaining areas of the precinct roof. Once the support structures and beams were in place, the full access scaffold was constructed around each tower block.

With extremely limited storage and laydown space due to the surrounding high street, car parks and live retail environment, deliveries and installation were carefully sequenced. Through close collaboration with Kier and the wider project team, Benchmark Scaffolding successfully delivered a complex, safe and efficient result.