Piling starts for first Infinity tower

Work has begun on the piling for the foundations of the first of three residential towers to be developed by Elliot Group in Liverpool.

Infinity will see more than 1,000 homes built on the corner of Pall Mall and Leeds Street on the northern edge of the city’s business district.

The scheme is valued at £250m. Elliot director Elliot Lawless said that more than £3m “has already been poured down a big hole” by contractor Vermont in earlier foundations work.

Lawless said: “Vermont have been beavering away behind the hoardings for weeks now but with the piling rig arriving on site this is the first time that passers-by will be able to see activity for themselves,”

Two piling rigs will drill concrete piles up to 18m into Liverpool’s sandstone bedrock, and will be on site for eight weeks. Substructures are progressing well, said Elliot, and the in-situ concrete frame will appear above the hoardings in July. The 39-storey tower – the tallest of the three – will rise to 436ft above sea level and provide 416 new homes.

Mark Connor, chief executive of Vermont Construction, said: “We’re building a number of very tall structures so we’re familiar with the challenges posed by such a project.

“It’s an exciting development and we’ve got an international team providing their expertise which is a testament to how far we’ve come in such a short space of time, and we are very proud to be delivering a building that will have such a positive impact on my home city.”

Work is scheduled to take 32 months to complete.