Plans have been approved to demolish the former UK headquarters of one of the world's biggest construction firms.

On Wednesday (September 18), Three Rivers District Council ruled that prior approval was not necessary and Kier Property Group can go ahead with knocking down the three-storey Maple Cross House just off the M25, as well as the two-storey Kier Southern offices and a multi-storey car park.

Maple Cross House in Denham Way had been home to Skanska until 2021.Maple Cross House in Denham Way had been home to Skanska until 2021. (Image: Google Maps) Maple Cross House had been the British headquarters of Swedish firm Skanska, the fifth largest construction company in the world according to Construction Global magazine, until 2021 when it made the move to a new site in Leavesden.

It had become “too large” for the company after Skanska sold its infrastructure services business to M Group Services for £50m in 2020.

The demolition will take place in two stages with the larger former Skanska building being the first to go. 

The works will remove the buildings’ foundations to a maximum depth of one metre, according to planning documents, and all waste material will be removed with the concrete set to be crushed down and reused during the development of the site.