Five Acres redevelopment begins with demolition due to start
Forest of Dean District Council are taking the next steps in the redevelopment of the Five Acres site at Berry Hill, with demolition contractor Armac Group beginning work on Monday 17 January.
Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Paul Hiett said:
“It is a really fantastic moment for us to begin work at Five Acres and residents will now be able to see tangible progress on the site of this exciting project.
“This is the next step in our process to bring incredible leisure and community facilities back to the area and alongside the demolition contractor we’re looking forward to getting stuck in.
“Armac Group were chosen as the demolition contractor as they are vastly experienced in their field and will be working with residents and Five Acres High School to minimise any disruption.
“I’d personally like to thank all council staff who have been involved in getting us to this position and look forward to the next steps in this exciting journey for the Forest of Dean.”
The demolition works will begin with internal stripping of the current buildings that are in a state of disrepair, before removal of those buildings and clearance of the site. As demolition of the buildings is internal to the site at Five Acres, no disruption to the local area is expected.
The redevelopment of the site will form part of the wider £20m Levelling Up project which will improve leisure facilities in the district, bring in new jobs and regenerate community spaces.
Initial plans for Five Acres include the regeneration of the existing Speedwell Building to provide new community space, along with new business space to help local economic recovery and support local business growth. Plans also include a range of indoor and outdoor sports facilities and working in partnership with Hartpury University and College it will facilitate the introduction of the Aspiration Academy, an outreach education centre.
Ross MacCormack, Contracts Manager at Armac Group said:
“We’re looking forward to working at the Five Acres site in Berry Hill to help turn the amazing plans for the site into a reality.
“We’ll be working closely with Five Acres High School to minimise noise and dust producing activities during busy periods and ensure that dust suppression units are in place to minimise nuisance. We undertake daily dust and noise monitoring as a further method of ensuring that we are being a responsible neighbour.
“It is our intention to undertake our operations with as minimal disruption as possible and members of staff from Armac Group will be on site to assist with any concerns.”
Indicative plans for the site were shown to the public during a community drop-in event in November and further events will be planned moving forward. These will be advertised across the council’s social media and news channels in due course.
Plans for the Five Acres site can be found on the council website at: https://www.fdean.gov.uk/levellingupfund