BOCM chimney set to come crashing down in late night explosion

Demolition works to clear redundant factory buildings on a prominent Selby gateway site are set to continue this weekend with a very early morning wake-up call for residents in Barlby.

The old boiler house chimney at BOCM Pauls on Barlby Road will be razed to the ground on Sunday when demolition experts from Thorne Demolition carry out a controlled explosion at the site.

But nearby residents will be in for a sleepless night after it emerged demolition crews will not be able to detonate the explosive charge in the chimney until some time between midnight and 3am, owing to trains running over an adjacent railway line. 

Due to the chimney’s close proximity to the Hull and Selby line, Network Rail will not allow for the tower to tumble until the final train of the day has safely passed though the site. This will ensure that no disruption to passengers or freight using the railway.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said, “..the demolition cannot be done while trains are running because of the potential of a dust cloud being created, impairing train drivers view and causing a safety risk.”

Barlby Road will also be closed to traffic whilst the demolition is carried out and will reopen once it is safe to do so.

Richard Cooper of Three Swans Property Management, acting for BOCM said, “The road closure will be from 11.00pm on Saturday night to 3.00am on Sunday morning, however we expect it to be a lot shorter than this assuming that the demolition goes to plan.”

Selby Online understands that a leaflet notifying residents of the late night demolition work will be posted to homes in the immediate vicinity of the blast during Wednesday. 

The button will be pushed by former Barlby Bridge School pupil, Josh Bowden, who won a competition organised by the school, local community police officer Stuart Davies and BOCM Pauls. Josh correctly guessed the height of the chimney at 30.1 metres.

Demolition has been taking place at a steady pace at the former British Oil and Cake Mills since last April, when works began to clear the dilapidated industrial complex in anticipation of the new £300m Olympia Park regeneration project. The proposed scheme would be the largest expansion to the Selby town area since work commenced on the Staynor Hall development a decade ago.

The development could see upto one thousand new homes being built across the massive 92 hectare site alongside new community facilities including improved sports pitches and a school. A commercial park would also be created comprising several retail units, supermarket and a hotel.

Plans were lodged with Selby Council’s planning department during May 2012 and remain under consideration at the time of publication.

The plans are not without controversy, however, as a number of residents of nearby properties have written to the Council in order to express their concerns over the scale of the development. Their fears include a potential detrimental effect on the volumes of traffic using local roads, relocation of well established recreation and allotment facilities and the sheer number of properties to be built at the location.

Two major employers, in the area have also objected to the scheme earlier in the year. Potter Group and Clipper Logistics – who just last week announced plans to create upto 300 new jobs in the town – say that road access arrangements for their businesses need to be safeguarded to protect the viability of their operations in the town.