Demolition work on the old Parkes Hospital started last Friday with the nurses’ quarters the first building to crumble under the force of the excavator bucket. Parkes Shire Council has taken full control and responsibility of the old hospital site as part of an agreement with Health Infrastructure New South Wales following the Parkes Hospital relocation to its new $72.8M facility in 2015.
Byrne Demolition was awarded the contract following an extensive tendering process. John Byrne said his company had done 14 hospital demolition projects before Parkes. Byrne Demolition has about ten people working on site, as well as asbestos removal specialists. John said all material would be recycled where possible including the crushing
of the bricks. “We will only remove trees where we have to.”
Council’s Director of Engineering Ben Howard said all buildings would go except the two at the front, the Education and Community Health Centres. “We still need to decide what to do with the buildings, while Council also continues to plan for the rehabilitation of the site and future development opportunities that will provide positive benefits and lifestyle opportunities for the community.”
The demolition project phase is expected to be completed by the end of December.