Skip to main content
BBC NEWS / GLASGOW, LANARKSHIRE AND WEST
Graphics VersionBBC Sport Home
News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | UK | Business | Health | Science & Environment | Technology | Entertainment | Also in the news | Have Your Say |
UK Contents:  England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales | UK Politics | Education | Magazine

09:33 GMT, Sunday, 1 June 2008 10:33 UK

Tower blocks fall in city revamp

Two tower blocks in Glasgow's Gorbals area have been demolished in a controlled explosion.

The buildings at Stirlingfaulds Place were razed to the ground at 0950 BST as part of an ongoing revamp.

The demolition, carried out by Dundee-based firm Safedem, took just 10 seconds to bring down the 23-storey blocks, using 120kg of explosives.

There are plans to build 1,725 new homes in the surrounding area, 450 of which will be for social rent

Safedem managing director and explosives engineer William Sinclair, described both tower blocks, which were completed in 1973, as "complex structures".

"What we do is to use the minimum quantity of explosives to initiate a collapse," he said.

'Good memories'

"We're taking out the structural integrity of certain columns and allowing gravity to take over - demolition man's best friend.

"In these buildings, because of constraints around the site, we were wanting to direct both of them in towards the centre of the site.

"We don't blow anything up in the demolition world we blow things down."

Mr Sinclair said his team would be on site for up to 20 weeks to process and recycle the rubble.

Some of the former occupants of the tower blocks expressed sadness that they had been demolished.

Dorothy Denham, who lived there from 1973 to 1995, said: "They were great. They were lovely. They were so different to where we'd came from in the Gallowgate.

"We had great neighbours and if the flats had been the same as in the 1970s I wouldn't have left them."

Mary Carnochan, stayed in the flats between 1973 and 1999.

She said: "It's very sad, a lot of good memories are away.

"It might be progress but it's sad. They were great houses, well and truly."



E-mail this to a friend
Related to this story:
Two tower blocks are demolished (26 Feb 06 |  Scotland )
City tower block to be demolished (09 Mar 05 |  Scotland )
Tower blocks reduced to rubble (03 Feb 02 |  Scotland )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
GHA
Safedem
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites



SEARCH BBC NEWS: 

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | UK | Business | Health | Science & Environment | Technology | Entertainment | Also in the news | Have Your Say |
UK Contents:  England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales | UK Politics | Education | Magazine

NewsWatch | Notes | Contact us | About BBC News | Profiles | History

^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©