High-rise flats in Glasgow’s Roystonhill went out with a bang this morning when a controlled explosion brought them down.
The 25-storey block of flats at 40 Rosemount Street had been a fixture on the city’s skyline since 1968.
The 72-metre structure was demolished at 11.20am as part of a community regeneration project.
An exclusion zone was set up and was reopened shortly after the demolition.
Around 240 households were evacuated and residents gathered at nearby St Roch’s Secondary School.
Pic Bill Fleming Blow Down of 40 Rosemount Street Glasgow
Daniel Haggerty, 37, who lives in nearby Blochairn, said: “These high rises are slums. It's about time they came down.”
His daughter, Rachel, 12, added: “It was good to see it. It was so loud.”
Jamie Robertson, 28, from Knightswood, brought his son, Mason, 4, to see the flats come down.
Jamie said: “I've seen the progress as I've travelled up and down the motorway. I wanted my boy to see it because there will be no high rises left soon.”
Steven Browning, 17, from Maryhill, came to see the demolition with three friends.
Pic Bill Fleming
He said: “I used to live in the Red Road flats and my dad said it wasn't a very nice place back in the early 2000s. It's sad that these flats are coming down. But, watching blowdowns is so cool so I had to come.”
The Rosemount demolition is part of social landlord GHA’s wider plans to regenerate the north of the city with 141 new homes built at Sighthill and another 157 new-build properties in Barmulloch.
David Fletcher, Director of Regeneration for GHA’s parent company, Wheatley Group, said: “We’ve already started work transforming the area with 55 new homes complete and our tenants are delighted in their new properties.
“This demolition allows us to build another 45 quality homes for our tenants. It’s an exciting time for people living in the area.
“We’d like to thank everyone in the community for their support which will allow us to carry out the demolition quickly and with the minimum of inconvenience.”
A neighbouring block at 20 Rosemount Street was safely demolished in December 2013 by GHA.
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