Two eyesore blocks of flats on a Wolverhampton estate have bitten the dust as part of multi-million pound plan to transform the run-down area.
Diggers moved on to the notorious Blakenhall Gardens estate to flatten Cross House and Ranelagh House over the Christmas period.
Three multi-storey blocks on the 1960s estate had already been bulldozed, and council bosses say the only remaining block, Phoenix Rise, could also be knocked down when the area gets its much-needed regeneration.
The estate made national headlines a decade ago when crazed machete-wielding maniac Horrett Campbell burst into St Luke’s School and attacked pupils and nursery teacher Lisa Potts before fleeing to Villiers House flats - one of the blocks already knocked down.
Blakenhall councillor Judith Rowley has welcomed the move to knock down the flats and allow the community to “look forward to the future”
“These blocks have been a symbol for the well intentioned, but ultimately disastrous, high-rise experiment of the 1960s,” she said.
“It is significant for the community to see the high rise blocks coming down as it will be a symbol of the renaissance and regeneration of Blakenhall.
“It is a big physical step in the right direction. The high rise flats are something that the people of Blakenhall want to put in the past now so they can move forward with the new scheme.”
Council bosses said the flats had been razed to the ground, with the rubble expected to be cleared by February 21.
They have named Haslam Homes, part of Keepmoat plc, as their preferred partner for redeveloping the prime 16-acre site, which stands alongside Dudley Road. The company was chosen from a shortlist to tackle the project and talks are now under way to finalise details of the proposed development package.
Initial proposals include the creation of a of more than 150 two-bedroom flats and two, three and four-bedroom houses, as well as retail outlets and public open space.#
By Victoria Nash
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