THOUSANDS of people gathered today to watch the demolition of a multi-storey block of flats at Red Road in the North of Glasgow.
A triple-block of flats at Petershill Drive was blown down in a controlled explosion.
The demolition is part of regeneration plans for the city.
Many of the former tenants of the flats were rehoused locally in one of 259 new-build homes. Others residents moved into new or upgraded homes across the city or other social landlords’ new homes.
Glasgow Housing Association owns the Red Road flats and have built many of the homes used to house the flat’s former tenants.
Executive Director of Development and Regeneration, Alex McGuire, said: “The Red Road flats were popular in their day and are known around the world, but their time has come to an end. We’re pleased the demolition of the first of the Red Road blocks went according to plan.”
The remaining seven multi-storeys in the area are to be demolished by 2017.
As final preparations for the demolition got under way, Red Road was trending on Twitter with tweets from hundreds of people including Still Game star Greg Hempill, actor Colin McCredie and comedian and writer Robert Florence.
Due to the unique steel-frame structure of the flats, the bottom storeys of the block remained – as planned – undisturbed after the blowdown. The remaining storeys will be demolished using machines.
Around 2,000 people were temporarily evacuated from their homes with many of the local residents staying with family or friends or visiting the evacuation centre at All Saints Secondary School.
Approximately around 275 kilos of explosives were used to bring down the triple block.
The clear-up operation will take several months to complete with the steel removed and recycled and the remaining rubble crushed and used as foundations for roads and buildings.
William Sinclair, Managing Director of demolition contractors Safedem, said: “The Red Road flats have presented a unique series of challenges ranging from the size of the buildings to the steel frame structure.”
