Eight Birmingham tower blocks to be demolished
Eight decaying tower blocks in Birmingham are to be razed by demolition contractors, as part of a £26 million housing demolition programme.
The eight blocks of sub-standard homes have been identified as the next properties to be taken down as part of the city council's scheme to get rid of "obsolete" housing stock. The programme is seeing the destruction of 1,279 homes, with a regeneration programmer set to begin soon after the demolition is complete.
City housing chief, John Lines, said that nearly all of the residents in the flats were behind the demolition scheme, and desired to see more better quality housing developed in the city.
"These are flats that don’t come up to our standards and it would be totally uneconomic to retain them," he said. "A large number of properties have been demolished but the future looks bright because we are building new homes across Birmingham."
The blocks that have been earmarked for demolition are Barry Jackson and Sapphire towers in Aston; Holbrook and Warstone towers in Hodge Hill; Osborne and Wellesbourne towers in Nechells; Cornwall and Norfolk towers in Soho; and the Shenley Fields bedsits in Weoley.
The demolition of the blocks is expected to generate around £1.6 million in debt repayment costs for each tower, which will result in savings of around £58 million over the next 30 years.
