Thirty years on from the 1996 IRA city centre bombing, our thoughts remain first and foremost with the hundreds of people who were hurt and deeply affected by the devastating blast. It remains a poignant moment in Manchester’s history.
Following the explosion, the largest in peacetime England, Connell Brothers was entrusted with the immense responsibility of leading the 17-month demolition and clearance operation to help the city rebuild.
Working in close liaison with Bovis Construction Ltd, our team tackled the unprecedented challenge of safely de-stressing and dismantling the heavily bomb-damaged Michael House. Supported by five massive post-tensioned beams, this complex project required a heavy investment in specialist high-reach plant, live structural monitoring by UMIST, and complex sub-basement engineering. Operating with utmost care in a live, densely populated city centre, we deployed silent concrete crushing and advanced dust suppression to protect recovering local businesses, ultimately completing the work on time, on budget, and with zero notifiable safety incidents.
Acclaimed by leading industry engineers as a ‘world first’ for post-tensioned beam demolition, this project remains a defining example of the technical expertise, operational innovation, and strict safety standards that drive Connell Brothers today as we look back on a vital chapter in Manchester’s resilience.
