| 23 September 2009
Arun District Council needed to source a suitable vertical fixed ladder system for the restoration of Grade II listed Hotham Clock Tower where hooped ladders could not be fitted due to the fixed apertures of the landings. Conservation architect Barry Stow relied on Ladderstore's expertise to specify a vertical fixed ladder solution.
The solution... Fixed vertical ladders with a fall arrest system designed and fitted by Ladderstore.
At more than two hundred years old, Hotham Park Clock Tower in Bognor Regis needed refurbishment. Set within the largest park in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, the tower – a Grade II listed building - was built by Sir Richard Hotham who founded Bognor Regis and as such it has historical and local significance.
A conservation architect, Barry Stow, was brought in to work on the conservation and repair and as part of the project needed to specify vertical fixed ladders. He chose those from Ladderstore.com.
It was not quite as simple as it seemed at first. Terry Capel of UPM Tilhill, who won the contract to undertake the work, explains:
Originally the plan was for hooped ladders but the three landings had fixed apertures. There was also a central partition going down the middle of the clock tower which couldn’t be moved. It meant that the hoops would be too big and just wouldn’t work, so we had to look at alternatives.
So back to Ladderstore. Together Terry and Gill Robinson (Ladderstore’s Sales Manager) looked at the alternatives; these included commissioning purpose-made ladders with smaller hoops (for which there was a cost and time implication) or else selecting a fall arrest system. They chose the latter. The landings continued to pose a problem which meant that instead of four ladders, they had to have two, the second flight being put as one through a landing. The two fixed vertical ladders were also extended in length to meet the dimensions.
Of his experience of working with Ladderstore, Terry comments;
They clearly know their products, know what they are doing and have solutions and options which worked out very well. Best of all, our client is very happy.
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UPM Tilhill is based in Stirling with twenty-three offices around the country. The Tunbridge Wells office undertook the Hotham Park project. Originally ‘Tilhill Forestry’, the company is moving into landscaping and construction as more integrated projects, like Hotham, require both building and landscaping skills. www.upm-tilhill.com
The Park originally formed the grounds to Sir Richard Hotham’s house built in the late 18th Century. After he died the house changed hands and among its subsequent owners was William Fletcher who planted many of the trees and plants still evident today. In 1947 the grounds came to the Urban District Council (as then was) and started life as a public park. Arun District Council had to wait to find sufficient finances to regenerate the park and eventually achieved £2.2million in Heritage Lottery funding – with partnership funding from the SITA Trust and others, including the Hotham Park Heritage Trust. At last a full building renovation and landscaping project could get under way. Ten years in the planning, it is due for completion this summer.
SITA Trust awarded £25K specifically for the Clock Tower restoration through its Enhancing Communities Programme which is funded through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. Visit www.arun.gov.uk/cgi-bin/buildpage.pl?mysql=1470 for more information on the Hotham Park Restoration Project.
More information about Ladderstore's Access Solutions Service can be found at the Ladderstore website by clicking here ...../
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