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Spencerbeck House supports emergency services as it nears demolition

Wednesday 5 February 2025

Spencerbeck House, a vacant 50-year-old high-rise apartment block in Ormesby, is nearing the end of its life but continues to serve the community in a meaningful way before its planned demolition.

Owned by Beyond Housing, the ten-storey building, originally constructed in 1972 and comprising 72 flats, has been temporarily repurposed as an invaluable training ground for emergency service providers. Agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, Police and Fire Brigade, are using the site to conduct essential training exercises, enhancing their readiness to respond to real-world emergencies.

This initiative is part of our commitment to support our communities as arrangements are made for the building’s next phase. Meanwhile, preparations for demolition are progressing and, with all necessary permissions secured, we are working with the operator of the telecoms mast on the building’s roof to enable its relocation and facilitate the demolition.

Craig Strike, Head of Operational Policy and Planning at Cleveland Fire Brigade, said, “Tactical exercises like the one held at Spencerbeck House on 29/01/2025 are crucial in ensuring our crews, control room staff, blue light colleagues and partner agencies are fully prepared to respond effectively to real-life emergencies.

High-rise incidents, like those that could occur at Spencerbeck House or similar tall buildings, present unique challenges, particularly in densely populated areas, and by conducting realistic training scenarios we can refine our procedures, test our response capabilities, and strengthen coordination with our partner agencies.

We are incredibly grateful to Beyond Housing for allowing us to use Spencerbeck House as a training facility ahead of its demolition, this exercise provided invaluable learning for all involved. We’d also like to thank the local residents for their cooperation and understanding as we continue working to create safer and stronger communities.”

Sarah Hall, Assistant Director of Housing at Beyond Housing, said, “Beyond Housing is committed to building safe and sustainable communities by delivering quality homes and supporting our customers.

By allowing the use of Spencerbeck House as a short-term training facility for vital services, we are proud to further contribute to the well being and safety of the communities we serve.”

Anna Turley, MP for Redcar & Cleveland, said “I have recently toured Spencerbeck House with Beyond Housing and it was interesting to hear how the block has had a lot of community use from the Fire Service and Police for training exercises.

We are eager to see the building come down and for something positive to evolve for the community. The final barriers are being unblocked now, and in the meantime, it’s been great to hear about how Spencerbeck House is being used to positive benefit, and we look forward to the future of Spencerbeck House and this area.”

This interim use of Spencerbeck House demonstrates a resourceful and community-focused approach, ensuring the building continues to have a positive impact even as it approaches the end of its journey.


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