Two tower blocks are ready for bulldozer

Two 1960s Black Country tower blocks branded a hot spot for crime are to be bulldozed, it was revealed today. The buildings have attracted anti-social behaviour.

Bolton Court in Tipton has been recommended for demolition in a new report by Sandwell Council chiefs. It will mean around 200 people have to be rehomed. People living there for 12 months or more will be offered compensation for the loss of their homes and disturbance. It is expected to be around £4,700 per flat but the amount is still being finalised.

Residents say the 13-storey tower blocks in Hill Road, Ocker Hill, have badly deteriorated.

Housing chiefs did consider investing money in refurbishing the properties but they have now recommended demolition.

The decision is set to be rubber stamped by the council's Neighbourhoods and Housing committee when it meets on Friday.

A report to the committee, by Karen James from Sandwell Council's partnerships and housing department, reads: "The removal of the tower blocks will assist with the regeneration of the area, as local residents often view tower blocks as the source of crime, including theft and anti social behaviour.

"The intention is to build new homes on the land adjacent to the multistory blocks to help with rehousing the tenants."

The Bolton Court development was constructed in the 1960s on the site of a former pumping station. The land had previously been a clay pit which had been filled with refuse and built over.

The two blocks are all that is left of a wider development. A third tower block and and three blocks of maisonettes were cleared and demolished a few years earlier.