Scaffold staircase to access a boat at Goodwood Revival

Service type: Scaffold staircase.

Address: Goodwood Estate, Goodwood, Chichester.

Client requirements: We were contacted to provide a quote to install a tube-and-fitting scaffold staircase for the well-known Goodwood Revival Festival 2024, which was also celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The stairs provided access to the historical British Power Boat (Company MA/SB 27), built as a coastal defence boat in 1941.

Difficulties we faced: We did not face any significant challenges with this scaffold; we were given access to the site before the day of the event, so there was plenty of time to erect the stairs. We did, however, have to take extreme care when moving equipment around whilst putting up the scaffold stairs near this famous and historical boat, so our scaffolders took extra time to ensure there would be no damage.

What we did:  

• We supplied, erected, and dismantled a traditional staircase using our specialist scaffold stair solutions to provide safe, unattached access to this historic boat during the parade.
• This structure was an independent staircase with a total height of 3.4 metres, allowing users to access the top of the boat. It would then be driven around the Goodwood track during the parade, so the stairs could not be attached to the boat.
• The stairs were split into two flights, approximately 1.7m high each, with 6 steps on the first set and 5 on the second.
• The landing areas were 5 scaffold boards wide on both flights.
• Double handrails were installed on both sides of the staircase and landings.
• Toe boards were also installed on the two landings.
• The stair treads used for the steps were made from non-slip galvanised steel and were 1220mm wide.
• The metal stair treads were connected to the tube using double couplers.
• Wooden sole boards for the grass areas and plastic tredda plates for the track area were placed on the ground as base plates for the vertical tubes to rest.

Hire period: Due to this staircase scaffold being used for an event, the hire period was only 1 week, and we were required to dismantle the structure as soon as the festival ended. This independent staircase design mirrors our other safe access work, such as this similar staircase and edge protection project in Lidsey, where we provided multi-flight stairs with full safety features.