All Access Scaffolding –working ahead of the curve

All Access Scaffolding Limited, who are Assessed members of the Scaffolding Association, have been providing access for phase one of an ambitious project to regenerate Folkestone Seafront.

This landmark project on Folkestone Harbour is being built upon the site of a former boating lake and a car park based at the foot of the Leas Lift and Coastal Park. This first phase is the construction of 60 new apartments being split across two seven storey blocks at the East and West ends of the sites, almost like two bookends, with 20 interconnecting townhouses and 4 duplexes, with every property able to boast spectacular views over the English Channel and along the coast.

The construction of the intricate Reinforced concrete (RC) Frame scaffold began in April 2021, and this project consists of 5414m2 of internal birdcages and 1732m of internal independent scaffolds to build both single and double skin blockwork. In addition, All Access also erected numerous staggered loading bays and HAKI staircases.

One of the main challenges of this project is the shape of the building, as Daniel Cromack, Quantity Surveyor at All Access Scaffolding explains: “The shape and geometry of the project, with its curved external façade, has really tested the versatility of scaffolding.

“With each level of curved façade, we have had a full-time carpenter on site to cut, install, adapt and remove ply sheeting to the infills. Individual templates for the different sized curves were cut and these were installed and removed a few times during the adaptions.

“The location also proved to be a bit of a challenge for the project, but so far it hasn’t negatively affected progress by the All Access team.

“Due to the sea air that the structure is going to be exposed to, the client had to come up with a number of solutions to maintain the appearance of this build. The most prominent solution is the decision to use a curved white enamel brick, as they are more durable than traditional brickwork, and something that you do not see every day on new builds.

“However, so far the weather hasn’t been terrible, we’ve had a couple of days away from site due to rain and wind which blows straight off from the sea, but nothing that has affected us considerably.”

Sam Berry, Managing Director, concluded: “My favourite part of this project is the intricacy and uniqueness of the design. I think I can speak for all of us when say we’ve not worked on anything like this before.”

Find out more: www.all-access.co.uk