Motherwell tower blocks demolished in controlled explosion

The skyline of North Lanarkshire has been changed in just 15 seconds with the simultaneous demolition of three tower blocks in Motherwell.

The 20-storey Allan, Coursington and Draffen Towers were destroyed in a single " controlled blowdown" to prepare the site for future development.

The button to trigger the blast was pressed by a former resident caretaker of one of the blocks Danny Devine, now 91, who is brother of the late singer Sydney Devine.

All residents living near the blocks had been told to leave for their own safety but the exclusion zone covering 271 homes and 10 businesses was lifted a few hours later on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the speedy fall of the towers, months of preparations had gone into the operation to ensure it went off safely.

The council said the blowdown procedure – a technique previously used on Glasgow's famed Red Road flats – was "carefully selected" from a number of options.

Draffen Tower was completed in 1969, while the Allan and Coursington Towers were finished a year later in 1970.

Each one stood about 58m (190ft) tall and contained 117 flats.

The demolition forms part of a 25-year plan by North Lanarkshire Council to knock down all 48 high-rise blocks across the local authority area and replace them with about 5,000 new homes.

Chief housing officer Stephen Llewellyn said many former residents would look back fondly at happy times spent living in the blocks, but that people's aspirations for what kind of home they want to live in had changed over the years.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: "It's a regeneration programme, it's not just a case of knocking them down and leaving the site empty.

"The ambition has always been to knock down the tower blocks and build new, modern energy-efficient homes in their place."

He told how Danny Devine, a former resident caretaker for one of the blocks for 25 years, had been chosen to push the button triggering the explosion after writing to the council asking if he could come and view the spectacle.

He was joined by a Joseph Carroll, a nine-year-old pupil from Cathedral Primary in Motherwell who has been documenting the demolition as part of a school project.

Mr Llewellyn said it was "significant moment" and he thanked local residents and businesses for their patience during the demolition.

"Safety has been our top priority, and the demolition has been carried out with expert planning and precision," he said.

"We're now looking ahead to the next chapter, clearing the site and preparing it for regeneration, with plans already in development for new mixed-amenity homes to benefit the local community."

The demolition was carried out by Thompsons of Prudhoe who said it was a challenging operation as the structures had been built using a rare tensioning system designed to reduce movement in the buildings.

The towers were brought down using 4,120 charges and 135kg of explosives, and leave behind 20,000 tonnes of rubble.