The Former Debenhams Building Is Going, Going… and in August Will Be Gone

Published on: 10 May, 2025
Updated on: 13 May, 2025

Demolition of the Debenhams building is progressing quickly.

By Martin Giles

Demolition of the former Debenham’s building continues apace.

In the past few days, cut up pieces of huge steel beams were being dropped down from the first floor level ready for transportation off site. And today machines were drilling through the first floor itself.

It is understood that the operation has been challenging, including weighing down the basement to prevent the lightened shell of the building floating in the waterlogged ground by the River Wey as the building was being taken down.  This has required many tons of concrete to be poured into the basement as demolition has progressed over several months.

The whole demolition is expected to be completed in August.

Currently according to St Mary’s Wharf website, work is being monitored 24/7 by a noise, dust and vibration monitoring system to ensure it falls within the approved parameters.

In the latest update on the website it is stated: “Since starting on site, in preparation for demolition, the John F Hunt team has been ensuring as little as possible goes to landfill.

“Whilst they cleared the empty building in preparation for this demolition stage, nearly 2,700 tonnes of waste were collected, from construction materials to cafe furniture. In total, over 98 per cent of the waste collected was ultimately recycled or reused.

Of the 15 tonnes that were reused, this included five tonnes of furniture, some of which has been donated to local allotments for gardeners to enjoy.

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