Scaffolding drama at former site of brewery

POLICE were called to cordon off part of Fountainbridge as around two tonnes of scaffolding broke free from a building and was left teetering precariously next to a road.

No-one was injured in the drama, which was centred around demolition works at the former Fountainbridge Brewery, but a section of Dundee Street was closed to traffic and pedestrians for around four hours last night.

Demolition experts at Brown and Mason, the firm tasked with razing the famous plant to the ground, say a portion of scaffolding was pulled from its attachments when workers began levelling the third floor of the former fermentation building.

A huge 360 digger with a pincer attachment was used to crunch through metal crossbars to separate the overhanging section of scaffold before tearing it down. While the excavator was in action two pieces of scaffolding were sent spiralling on to the deserted street below.

A police spokesman said a member of the public had alerted emergency services to a possible scaffolding collapse at around 5.10pm. Dundee Street was reopened at 9pm last night.

Brown and Mason began dismantling the former Fountainbridge Brewery in September 2010 and is expected to have completed the work by the end of August.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Demolition of the building along Dundee Street was progressing to plan. The top two levels had been removed. However, during demolition of the third level, an unexpected building structural design change resulted in a section of protective scaffold screen being pushed out of alignment.

"As a precaution we immediately closed the adjacent footpath on Dundee Street whilst we assessed the situation and determined the safest corrective measures.

"Then working with the police we temporarily closed Dundee Street whilst we repositioned our specialist high-reach demolition machine and made the area safe. At no time was anyone placed at risk."

In May, the Evening News told how a masterplan to turn the former Fountainbridge Brewery site into a new canalside quarter was approved by planners.

The outline scheme would see the site transformed into a mixed-use area, including residential, retail, leisure and student housing, with new routes created across the site.

The area around the canal would be designed to become one of the Capital's main attractions, according to architect Allan Murray.