Safe on the rooftops of Truro
In 1936 the Plaza Cinema opened its doors for the first time, bringing stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to the people of Truro. At that time The Plaza offered more than a good night out at the pictures with a café and ballroom also on offer.
Surviving the Second World War, the building has had its ups and downs over the years with declining audiences leading to a period of closure in the 1990s. Restored into use in 1998 by WTW Cinemas, a Cornish company which itself was incorporated in 1945, further refurbishments have most recently seen a fifth screen opening in 2016.
No roof lasts forever and a leak in the junction of the felt roof and metal roof saw The Plaza call upon Pellow for a solution. Following discussions we successfully carried out an emergency repair, using high performance felt to seal the breach. Overall the project took a day to complete.
When working on any roof safety has to come first and that was certainly the case for this project. Working on the Plaza roof may have given us great views of the cathedral and viaduct but our priority had to be the carrying out of a safe repair whilst protecting the safety of our people and others.
Although we bring more than forty years combined waterproofing experience to our work, are a CHAS accredited contractor and are trained in health and safety to a supervisory level, we never let ourselves become complacent about safety. Prior to starting any project we therefore work through an effective Health and Safety Management System programme. This helps to ensure that our work is, as far as reasonably practical, scheduled and carried out without compromising health and safety. Our safe working assessment for this project identified the need to use a weighed lanyard and harness to ensure the safety of those working on the cinema roof.
As an art deco building with a history of entertaining the people of Truro the Plaza Cinema is an important landmark. We were pleased to play our small part in helping to ensure that it will continue to serve the people of Truro for some time to come.
