2022 is a memorable year for L A Moore Ltd. This year the company celebrates its 70^th anniversary and Les Moore, founder and Managing Director, celebrates his 90^th birthday. In addition, Peter Moore, Contracts Director celebrates his 60^th birthday.

It started with the railways

At the age of 11 Les Moore would catch a train from Westbury-Sub-Mendip to school in Wells along the Strawberry railway line.  But in 1960 the Strawberry line closed and L A Moore were awarded the contract to remove the line from Yatton to Wells. At this point the emphasis of the company changed from building houses to demolition. In 1969 the Company purchased the old Wookey Railway Station buildings and sidings from British Rail and in 1999 the company head office moved here.

In 2014 L A Moore Ltd purchased the land adjoining their depot from the Inveresk Papermill and we hope the site can contribute to the project to transform the former Strawberry Line into a multi-user path.

A little bit about Les Moore

As well as founding and running L A Moore, Les appears to have more than 9 lives: amongst other scrapes he narrowly missed being shot when a friend stumbled with his loaded gun. While sailing in the Balearics he almost drowned after being struck by a Force 12 gale. And when flying with a group of businessmen on an all-expenses paid trip from the local Caterpillar Plant dealer, a bolt of lightning struck the plane, causing major panic and loss of electrics. Thankfully the pilot managed to nurse the plane back to the airport. Les has luckily come though his mishaps unscathed and lives to tell the tale.

L A Moore Ltd Over the Years

With 70 years’ experience in the demolition industry, L A Moore Ltd have successfully completed projects ranging from garden sheds through to city centre projects, office blocks, schools, hospitals and major factory sites.

Much has changed in the world of demolition over the years. Wrecking balls have been replaced by mechanical shears, and dust-suppression units are used to damp-down dust caused by the demolition process. Very little waste now goes to landfill as we re-use or recycle over 99% of demolition materials. L A Moore Ltd has always been keen to implement new processes and technologies. In 1987 we bought our first mobile crushing plant, and continue to look for ways to work safer, smarter and reduce our environmental footprint.

Our staff are experienced, highly trained and have extensive experience in the industry. Many of our employees are long-serving; one employee has been with us for 40 years this year. We pride ourselves on working quickly, cleanly and efficiently, and causing minimal disruption.

We are members of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC), National Demolition Training Group (NDTG) and one of our senior management team is a Member of the IDE (Institute of Demolition Engineers). L A Moore Ltd are one of the leading contractors in the South West today, and we continue to grow and develop our portfolio. We have received 7 Bronze and Silver awards from the Considerate Constructors Scheme, and maintain our position as a very successful company in the demolition arena.

Celebration and Charity

To commemorate this special year L A Moore Ltd have purchased a brand new defibrillator. It is installed outside their depot and is available for use by the public and local rugby teams that play on the company’s rugby pitch adjacent to their yard.

There will also be a garden party on August bank holiday Sunday with all funds raised being given to the Childrens Hospice South West.

L A Moore ltd have been long-standing supporters of the Hospice having experienced the death of a close family member, 4 year old Jack who sadly died in 2002. In 2004 L A Moore Ltd raised £82,000 from a summer ball, and while we don’t expect to reach that fantastic target this year, we truly hope we will once again be able to assist this exceptional charity.

We have recently completed the demolition of Walnut Buildings in Radstock, Somerset. We were awarded the contract by housing association Curo Group to completely demolish the four blocks of buildings, including out-buildings.

During the demolition properties surrounding the site remained fully occupied, and access roads and adjacent garages were open and in use.

Before the works started we erected a 2.4m timber hoarding around the site and created a demolition drop zone to ensure the safety of all workers on site. One of our experienced CCDO qualified Demolition Supervisors was assigned to manage the works. We assigned a team of CSCS/CCDO qualified operatives who were issued with personal protective equipment prior to working on site. Before work started the team attended an induction session. Our health and safety advisor regularly audited the works, and the audits were made available to the Curo Group.

Buildings were worked on block by block. Asbestos identified in the Asbestos Survey was removed by qualified operatives, before the buildings were soft-stripped of loose and non-structural items. Once stripped, the buildings were demolished down to ground level using excavators. The foundations were then broken out. One of our mobile tracked crushers was used to crush all brick, hard-core and concrete to 6F2 specification. The crushed material was then used in the demolition voids to leave a level site. Stone from the demolished buildings was saved during demolition and kept for later use.

We supplied vehicles and skips to remove all remaining material from site to licensed recycling and waste facilities. We aim to recycle as much material as possible and on this project our recycling rate was 99.9%. The cleared and levelled site was left ready for the next stage of the project.

ISO 45001:2018  Occupational health and safety management systems is the world’s first international standard for occupational health and safety. It provides a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and replaces the outgoing BS OHSAS 18001 standard. Certification to ISO Standards demonstrates that we work to international best practice, and it demonstrates our credibility and competence to stakeholders and customers.

Having already been certified to the quality and environmental standards of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for a number of years, the move to gain ISO 45001:2018 was a natural progression for our company.  

Peter Moore, Director, prides himself on best business practice. He believes that having ISO 45001 certification is a crucial factor in ensuring the safest possible working environment for employees.

As Peter explains “Keeping our workers safe is one of our most important goals. We have always maintained a robust H&S management system, overseen by our H&S Manager, Joe Ready. With the introduction of ISO 45001:2018 , both Joe and I felt that certification would be a natural transition for our business. It allows for continual improvement as the business grows and develops, and ensures we follow best practice”.

Having all three ISO certifications is a great achievement for our company and definitely puts us at the front of the pack.