Hundreds of people watch Glasgow's Wyndford flats demolition

Hundreds of people gathered in Glasgow on Sunday to watch the city skyline change after the demolition of three tower blocks.

The 26-storey buildings on Wyndford Road in Maryhill were toppled by controlled explosion to make way for new social housing in the area.

An exclusion zone was in place around the towers from 8am on Sunday, with police cordoning off the area, and residents being given breakfast and a £100 Tesco voucher at a nearby evacuation centre.

Originally built in the 1960s on the site of the former Glasgow City barracks, the towers were deemed not fit for habitation by owners Wheatley Homes and are due to be replaced with a development of 386 affordable homes.

The flats were featured in the external shots for High Living, the first British soap opera to be produced in Scotland, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

While those observing the demolition cheered as the explosions rang out across the city, some residents had protested against the move, bringing in leading architect Malcolm Fraser to propose an option of retrofitting the buildings over concerns of the environmental impact.

Scott Crichton travelled into the city to watch the towers be brought down, and he told Greatest Hits Radio about his only trip up one of them.

He said: “I was up near the top of the middle one once, there was a young fellow who lived in there and he was wanting a fridge, and I brought it in my car, and I took it up.

“That was the only time I was ever in one of those buildings, that was about five years ago, but I wish I’d asked the guy to have a look over his veranda.”

After the buildings came down, a large smoke and dust cloud drifted west over the city, with nearby residents being told to close windows and keep pets indoors.

Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said: “I know it’s divided opinion about the future of these buildings, but it’s good to see progress in the sense of new housing being developed in the city.

“There’s a question around whether this is appropriate development, and whether we can have a better density of site use in the future, but nonetheless it’s certainly a dramatic sight in Glasgow.”

The new development will also include plans for the Maryhill Hub, a facility offering a multi-use hall, gym, cafe and computer access.

Frank McAfferty, Wheatley's group director of repairs and assets said: "This is a new dawn for Wyndford, and our regeneration work will transform the area for generations to come.

"We'd like to thank everyone in Wyndford for their support and understanding during this important part of the community regeneration project.

"We will continue to work closely with the community to make sure their voices are at the heart of the transformation of the area."

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