Homes are history in 10 minutes flat

Rubble is all that now stands where people once sat in their living rooms, pottered in their gardens and children played.

One man and a bulldozer took just 10 minutes to raze numbers 126 and 128 Priory Road to the ground – a milestone event which will allow plans for a new development to progress.

But parts of the homes will live on – as reclaimed bricks will be used in new building projects.

Spokesman Andy Cook, from Humphries Demolition Ltd, of Tipton, said: "The final two houses fronted the main road so we had to monitor the pavement and be extra careful with the demolition.

"A water jet was sprayed onto the buildings as they are bought down which stopped dust causing any problems for drivers."

The decision to demolish the estate was made during 2006 because of the deteriorating condition of the ageing properties and the need to regenerate the area.

It took two years for Dudley Council to relocate tenants from all 272 houses before work on the site could begin.

It has taken 30 staff and six machines six months to clear the five acre site.

And the only reminder of the original estate is the road network of Heather Road, Pine Road, Thornhill Road, Castle Mill Road, Primrose Crescent and Fern Road.

The remains of the last two properties will be painstakingly sorted by hand – allowing reclaimed bricks to be added to the 500,000 which are already being shipped to other building projects.

Mr Cook added that up to 97 per cent of the debris created during the demolition will be reclaimed and reused.

"The first stage of the demolition was to go into the houses and carry out a soft-strip where all the fixtures and fittings are removed," he explained.

"This process allowed us to carefully extract floorboards and plasterboard which can then be recycled."

Once the buildings themselves are pulled down workmen go through the bricks and chip render off whole ones before they are stacked on pallets and sold on.

Dave Nicholls, partnership manager for Dudley Council, said: "Because the houses were built in the 1920s, when bricks were larger, the reclaimed bricks are in demand for developers who are extended or altering older properties."

Any broken bricks and roof tiles are fed into an industrial stone crusher which creates hard-core material for use under the roads and foundations of the proposed new development.

On Wednesday, Dudley Council's development control department will dictate the future of the site. If planning permission is granted the Bromford Group will go ahead with a 314-home development, which would help to regenerate the wider area.

The plans include apartments, bungalows and houses and will be a combination of rented, privately owned and shared ownership properties.

A homezone area is also planned to give pedestrians priority over cars.

Council spokesman Vikki Marshall said: "Now we are nearing completion of the demolition of the old estate, we are now at a stage where we can look to the future of the new North Priory.

"We will continue to work with the local community, Bromford Group and the developers, Keepmoat, to ensure the regeneration of this area will produce a desirable place to live, with homes suitable for the whole community now and in the future."

If planning permission is granted, building work is scheduled to begin at the start of 2010 when caverns underneath the site have been filled.

Tenants have been found alternative accommodation and have the option of applying for new homes on the Priory estate but will not necessarily be given preference.