High level clean brings a new shine to Ashford’s County Square Shopping Centre

The management team at County Square Shopping Centre, in Ashford, Kent, recognises the importance of maintaining its facilities, both inside and out, so when the external façade was showing signs of accumulated dirt, grime and pollution it called in working at height experts, CAM Specialist Support.

The busy shopping centre in Ashford’s town centre has over 50 stores, including Debenhams, M&S, and Next. It offers a wide range of shopping all under one roof, from homeware to fashion to gadgets and much more.

Specialist skills, specific equipment and strategic planning were essential for organising the cleaning at height that the shopping centre required.

The cleaning work took place over a series of evenings (from 6pm to 11.59pm) using industrial jet washers set at the appropriate pressure to ensure the fabric of the cladding was not damaged. The hours the cleaning operatives could work were specified by the centre management team and the local authority permits issued by Ashford Borough Council to cause minimum disruption to the public.

The CAM team used 19 metre and 34 metre truck-mounted access-platforms to reach all the stone, glass blocks, metal panels, metal fins and glazing at the centre. They also cleaned the glass canopy over a pedestrian entrance and fitted obscure film to the underside of the canopy.

Frances Burt, the Centre Manager at County Square said: “The façade had not been cleaned since the redevelopment was finished in 2008 and over time the stones and tiles had slowly become stained. The clean provided the desired results in all areas and returned the façade to a clean and presentable fashion more in keeping with the shopping centre’s image”.

Sean Canty, Director at CAM added: “Our trucks had to be parked on the public highway during the work, so we had to have the correct local authority permits and also ensure that no-one was endangered while we carried out the clean. As working at height specialists, health and safety precautions are always paramount, for our operatives as well as the public.”

www.camsupport.co.uk