Demolition on high rise flats starts

Part of the West Midlands skyline was set to change forever today as work to demolish 15-storey Bearwood House in Smethwick got under way.

The 42-year-old high rise block has dominated the north part of Bearwood Road since completion in 1966. The council flats have been home to hundreds over the years, with the last tenants, many pensioners, moved last year. The flats have been stripped out and a 216ft crane was brought onto site today to start knocking down the landmark building.

Work is expected to take up to five weeks with the building being pulled down bit by bit. The crane will spend three weeks taking it down to the fourth floor before a smaller machine demolishes lower floors.

Paul Ladlow, site supervisor, said: "Each section of concrete is removed in a controlled way by the machine, section by section.

"One person operates it while two of us control the building making sure no one gets near it and nothing falls off. We act as his eyes."

The demolition of Bearwood House was first proposed by Sandwell Council in 2004. Residents launched a battle to save their homes, but the council ruled it was uneconomical, after it was revealed the dilapidated block would cost £5 million to refurbish compared to £1.6 million to pull down.

Most residents moved to newly built accommodation at The Mews, Smethwick, owned by Black Country Housing Association, about a quarter of a mile away.

The Bearwood Road block, has been boarded up, and the council had to bring in cranes to demolish it as it is too close to neighbouring properties to be brought down with explosives.

There were 13 other high-rise blocks under review in Sandwell last year, but so far there are no plans to demolish others. The borough holds a national record for the 58 towers it has blown up recently – the last being 24-storey Hamilton House, Smethwick, in March 2007.

It came down to cheers of residents who spent 30 years living in its shadows. The council has spent £25 million improving nine high rise blocks over five years.