Two massive tower blocks of flats in Milton Keynes will be razed to the ground in next few weeks

Work is starting on demolishing two tower blocks of flats – a total of 200 homes.

The demolition started this week at The Gables in Wolverton, while November will see workers begin to tear down Mellish Court in Bletchley.

All the tenants and families who occupied the flats have been found “new and better homes”, says MK Council.

Both buildings were declared unsafe and lacking in modern fire safety standards two years ago, following the Grenfell disaster, and the council had to decide whether it was viable to renovate to bring them up to modern requirements.

Eventually it was decided to demolish and the tenants have been gradually moved out ever since.

At The Gables block, contractors Keltbray are working from the top, taking each of the 11 storeys apart at a time. The process is happening just a few hundred metres away from the demolition of Wolverton’s Agora building, which is now in the final stages.

Around 95% of the materials taken from the 1960s-built flats at The Gables will be recycled, the council has vowed.

Work on the 18-storey high Mellish Court in Bletchley is also expected to begin next month. Here, rehousing the tenants from the 136 flats was a massive exercise for the council to undertake.

Both sites were emptied earlier this year and have been used for fire safety training by Bucks Fire and Rescue service in the meantime.

Once all the demolition work is complete, MK Council will begin consultations with local people about how best to fill the empty spaces.

This week Cllr Emily Darlington, who is Cabinet member for Adults, Housing and Healthy Communities, said: “It’s really positive to see progress being made with replacing these tower blocks.”

She added: "Once the demolition has been completed, we’ll be speaking with local people living around both The Gables and Mellish Court to determine the future of the sites. I’m confident that by working together with local communities, we’ll be able to create new healthy and happy neighbourhoods in these areas.”