Demolition of Ordnance Survey's previous head office building in Romsey Road, Southampton is now well under way after the world-leading mapping giant moved into its new Kier-built landmark headquarters at Adanac Park in January 2011.

Marking the start of a new era for the site, which had been the home of Ordnance Survey since 1969, demolition of the buildings by Southampton-based Kier Construction began in February this year. Preparatory work to strip out and segregate the many waste streams within the structure was completed quickly and efficiently enabling mechanical demolition to begin one week ahead of schedule.


Demolition of the William Roy, west block and restaurant buildings is being undertaken utilising a 47 tonne machine adapted to take a high reach mechanical arm and is expected to be completed by September 2012.

The Romsey Road site will have a new lease of life once demolition of the old buildings is complete; Kier will retain some of the site but an area of land has already been sold to Taylor Wimpey for the building of houses, and the rest is going through the process of a revised planning phase.

(CD/GK)