This is all that's left of the tallest tower block of flats in Milton Keynes

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Demolition work is almost complete

Drone footage has shown the final stages of the demolition of MK’s tallest tower block, Mellish Court in Bletchley.

The 19-storey building, which housed 136 flats, has been taken apart one floor at a time after it was declared unsafe and lacking in modern fire safety standards.

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The move follows the demolition of the 11-storey high block of flats called The Gables in Wolverton for the same reasons.

Both of the 1960s-built buildings were deemed dangerous two years ago, following the Grenfell disaster, and MK City Council decided it was unviable to renovate them to bring them up to modern requirements.

Rehousing the 200 families from all the flats was a massive exercise for the council to undertake but all have now been found “new and better homes”, say officials.

Both sites were emptied earlier this year and, before demolition began, were used for fire safety training by Bucks Fire and Rescue service in the meantime.

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The photograph of Mellish Court was taken by drone earlier this month and this week only the foundations remain. Around 95% of the materials from both buildings will be recycled.

A drone photo shows what is left of Mellish Court  tower block in BletchleyA drone photo shows what is left of Mellish Court  tower block in Bletchley
A drone photo shows what is left of Mellish Court tower block in Bletchley

MK City Council will begin consultations with local people about how best to fill the empty spaces.

Cabinet member for Adults, Housing and Healthy Communities, Cllr Emily Darlington said: “Finding new and better homes for our tower block tenants has been our initial priority which we managed to do quickly. Now that the demolition is completed for both blocks our focus is on making the best use for the sites. We’ll work very closely with people living near Mellish Court and The Gables to create new healthy and happy neighbourhoods in these areas."

Meanwhile there will shortly be a new contender for the title of tallest tower block in Milton Keynes. A massive 33 storey high block of flats is soon to be build as part of the new Central Milton Keynes 'gateway' development.

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The block is part of the £180m redevelopment of Saxon Court, the city's vaccination centre. Mixed-use developer First Base and investors Patron Capital will build 288 apartments on the site of the iconic former council building. There will also be spaces to work and socialise with the equivalent size of 19 tennis courts worth of publicly accessible space.

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