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It has not been a blast in
Seaforth
IT may appear funny at 1st, but in
reality it just isn't, for over the weekend, 2 tower blocks in Seaforth,
Merseyside where due to be demolished simultaneously, but sadly for both the
demolition company and residents, this was not going to go to plan. One local
resident said:- "These towers have been making problems ever since they
got constructed and even now, when being removed, they are creating problems."
As the countdown took place, on Sunday, 24 April 2016 and residents in the
exclusion zone had been moved to a safe area, all looked good. Then the charges
went off, but neither of the blocks fell. At 1st, not knowing whether to laugh
or cry, the demolition company's experts were stumped when the 1st controlled
explosions failed. Then, a few hours later, as they started to find out what had
gone wrong, without warning, 1 of the 15 storey tower blocks, Churchill House,
suddenly collapsed! The other block remained standing over night, apparently
looking intact, but in reality it posed a massive danger to both work crews and
residents alike. A spokesperson for the Widnes company, which supplied the
demolition squad, trading as J. Bryan (Victoria) Ltd for 15 years, told the
crowd of spectators and residents that they had:- "experienced delays" and
that they were trying "to get as many people safely back into their homes as
possible." Sadly, for some, the failure to collapse the other block,
Montgomery House, meant that all the people living on Claremont Road could not
return home. This resulted in anger and frustration from some of those involved.
The residents in the affected area had to be accommodated in a hotel for the
night. One Vision Housing, which owns the property, then tweeted a statement
from J. Bryan (Victoria) Ltd. that can be read by clicking on this
link.
Monday at around 3 o'clock, charges were again fired, but nothing really
happened; then as heavy duty JCB demolition plant equipment pulled on large
cables attached to the building to try and get Montgomery House's structure to
buckle. Next, despite the demolition team working valiantly in unthinkable
danger, only a partial collapse of the North East section of the Seaforth tower
block was achieved. The efforts at that point only made the structure even more
dangerous and work had to stop to enable some structural engineers to reassess
the situation. "It remained defiant. This block is Scouse, it truly wants
to be remembered and will fight to stay alive, no matter what you throw at
it..." 1 of the affected residents joked in despair. When asked why so
many affected residents are joking about it by a member of the national press,
he replied:- "Well what can you so? Laugh or cry? At least it gets us out
of the house!": A typical Liverpool black humour response. So again,
over Monday Night the people living on Claremont Road had to go to a hotel for
another night. Both One Vision Housing and A J Bryan spokesperson have yet again
thanked all the inconvenienced residents for their patience. Work is expected to
continue to perform a "controlled collapse" of the remaining parts of the tower
block.
Just before publication we have been told that J. Bryan (Victoria) Ltd. will now
be doing a phased demolition of the remaining structure of Montgomery House. One
Vision has said that:- "everything is being done for those residents
affected by the ongoing exclusion zone. We have been told that the residents are
now being made as comfortable as possible with hotel accommodation, food, drink
and other provisions." One Vision have also said that:- "staff
continue to be in attendance at the hotels to ensure that those residents have
the relevant support and access to information. We have been told residents who
live in the exclusion zone, they should contact One Vision Housing on:- 0300 365
1111, should they require further information or assistance." We would
love to know if you are one of the residents affected and if this is the case.
Click on this
link
to see more photographs of the 3rd attempt to pull the block down.
Are you affected by this? Do you have any memories of the Tower Blocks you would
like to share with us? If you have any memories, views or thoughts, please email
us to:-
News24@SouthportReporter.Com.
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