Post date: May 06, 2013 2:45:25 PM
Glasgow tower block is demolished in controlled explosion.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (ITN) - One of a group of high rise Glasgow tower blocks was demolished in a controlled explosion on Sunday (May 5) as part of a project to regenerate the Scottish city.
The thirty-storey tower was part of the Red Road flats that when built in the 1960s were the highest in Europe.Current and former residents gathered on the edge of an exclusion zone to witness the demolition, the second in a series which will see all eight blocks blown down by 2017.
Months of planning went into the demolition, Glasgow Housing Association's Executive Director of Development and Regeneration Alex Mcguire said.
"There's a huge amount of discussion and cooperation with the local community who are inconvenienced on demolition days. We'd really like to thank them for cooperating this morning, we'll hopefully get them back at their house safe and sound quite quickly. But we have one of the best demolition teams and contractors I suspect in the whole world so I'm always confident that they get the job right. That said it's always a relief to see them come down safely on the day," said Mcguire.
One former resident who watched the building disappear into a cloud of dust was Frances Smith, whose family lived in the block for decades.
"It was very emotional," said Smith.
"It was actually more emotional than I thought it would be to be honest with you. I think it's 27 years of family memories up in a puff of smoke, in a few seconds, so it was quite emotional."
But, Smith said, the design of the tower blocks no longer suited the needs of modern families.
"The flats were great a way back, all those 40 years or so ago. But nowadays it's not ideal for children to be stuck maybe 20 stories up in a high-rise flat with nothing around for them to do, so I understand why it's got to come down. I certainly wouldn't want to bring my children up stuck 20 stories up in a high-rise flat. So I understand why its got to come down, but it is still sad," said Smith.
Built to house almost 5,000 people, only a few hundred remain living in the Red Road flats.