Ainscough phone mast removal: lift planning and stability lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Ainscough Crane Hire has dismantled a 52–53 m, 4 m diameter, ~70 t telecoms mast at a former EE site in Sunderland using a Liebherr LTM1650-8.1 650 t mobile crane as main crane and a Liebherr LTM1500-8.1 500 t unit as tailing crane. Working on an exceptionally confined site with unexpected underground telecoms chambers that invalidated original outrigger positions, the team relied on Liebherr’s VarioBase and VarioBallast systems to reconfigure outrigger spread and ballast radius. The mast was cut and lifted in three ~25 t sections, with detailed lift calculations maintaining 100% safety margins.
Technical Brief
- Months of planning and multiple methodology revisions were required as demolition contractors changed mid-process.
- Confined working area was bounded by earthworks and dense vegetation, severely limiting crane set-up options.
- Site clearance exposed previously unknown underground telecoms chambers, invalidating pre-planned outrigger load paths and positions.
- Discovery of buried chambers triggered a full re-assessment of outrigger reactions and ground-bearing safety margins.
- Advanced VarioBase and VarioBallast functions were treated as critical control measures in the revised lift plan.
- Lift calculations for each ~25 t section were run to maintain 100% safety margin throughout.
- On the day, cut sections “barely moved”, indicating tight control of rigging geometry and crane deflection.
- Close coordination between Ainscough, Circet and the demolition contractor was maintained to manage evolving risk profile.
Our Take
The use of 650‑t and 500‑t Liebherr mobiles for this 70‑t, 52‑m tower aligns with Ainscough Crane Hire’s recent tandem-lift work at Sellafield’s Fellside CHP plant, signalling a push to market high‑end heavy-lift capability for complex decommissioning rather than routine construction lifts.
Given Ainscough Crane Hire’s reported fall in turnover and profit to September 2025, high‑profile specialist jobs like this Sunderland mast removal for EE and Circet are likely important for defending margins in a softer UK lifting market.
Across the 907 Infrastructure stories in our database, relatively few safety‑tagged pieces feature such large safety margins on temporary works; this suggests Ainscough is leaning on conservative lift planning as a differentiator when competing for telecoms and industrial dismantling work in the United Kingdom.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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