Work starts to knock down last remaining tower block in Milton Keynes

Work to demolish Mellish Court, the council’s one remaining tower block in Milton Keynes, has started this week.

The 19-storey building in Bletchley, is being taken apart one floor at a time and follows the demolition of The Gables in Wolverton earlier this year.

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 the buildings to bring them up to modern requirements.

Eventually it was decided to knock them down with around 200 families who occupied both buildings being re-housed.

Cllr Emily Darlington, Cabinet Member for Adults, Housing and Healthy Communities, said: "Finding new and better homes for our tower block tenants has been our initial priority and now that’s been done we can focus on replacing the blocks.

"We’ll work very closely people living near to Mellish Court and The Gables to create new healthy and happy neighbourhoods in these areas."

After demolition is completed, the council will clear the space and start consultations with local people about how best to use the site in the future.

Around 95% of the materials from the two buildings will be recycled.

> Mellish Court was built in 1966 at a cost of £465,000 – the first tenant, Mrs Doris Gent, a 55-year-old widow who had moved to Bletchley from London, moved in on Thursday, December 8.