Sighthill for sore eyes
Hundreds gather to watch 40-year-old tower blocks come tumbling down to make way for new homes
Former residents and thousands of curious bystanders came together to watch as the three multi-storeys in North Sighthill were demolished at the end of September.
Hermiston, Glenalmond and Weir Courts, once home to 285 families, were reduced to rubble with controlled explosives to make way for the regeneration of the area.
Nine-year-old Lewis Reynolds joined longest residents Maureen and William Murdoch in pushing the button to demolish the blocks. Lewis was chosen to push the button after designing the winning safety poster in a primary schools’ competition.
Around 1,000 people gathered in Sighthill Park and along Calder Road to watch as 38kg of explosives were set off in each block, initiated with 980 delay detonators, with a one second delay between each multi-storey.
More than 20,000 tonnes of demolition material were then cleared from the site and taken to be recycled.
The redevelopment of the area will see up to 320 new homes built as part of a new mixed tenure community comprising 50 per cent affordable housing (30 per cent council homes for rent, 10 per cent mid rent and 10 per cent low cost homes ownership) with the remainder for private sale.
Glasgow-based architects Anderson Bell Christie have been appointed to develop a design guide for the new development.
Consultation meetings are being held with the North Sighthill Development Group to help shape the design guide, which will give details of the style of buildings, construction materials to be used in the projects, street design, landscaping, gardens, living space and recycling.
The guide will also be based on the approved masterplan to set out the Council’s requirements for its housing.
Need to know
You can now view footage on the Council’s own You Tube channel, www.edinburgh.gov.uk/sighthilldemo
Mr and Mrs Murdoch’s memories of Glenalmond court
William and Maureen Murdoch first moved into the Sighthill blocks in January 1967 and spent 43 years in their two-bedroom home on the ninth floor of Glenalmond Court.
“It was quite a big change for us,” said William. “We had lived in Riego Street and were all enclosed in a wee cul-de-sac more or less and then we came out to wide open space in North Sighthill. Living on the ninth floor, we were aghast at the difference it was going to make to our lives.”
“There was very much a community spirit,” Maureen added. “One or two had moved out from Riego Street just the same as we did and we also got to know the people round and about.
“Beside the flats there was the library and the community centre. I think that was a great help. The shops were there too and the shops are a great place for meeting people.”
The couple, who have settled into their new home in Stenhouse, have fond memories of their time at Glenalmond, where they raised their three children.
“The flats were quite warm and fantastic in winter time. When the snow was out it was lovely,” said Maureen.
“You saw a lot of things. Seeing the Pope going down the road, that was quite something. Royal visitors, if they were coming from the airport, would sometimes come past in their cars. Watching the airplanes fly past your window. The fact the park was there gave the children things to do.”
Fond family memories of living in the flats meant the couple felt a tinge of sadness at watching the demolition.
“We lived in flats for more than half our lives, so it’s a chunk of our history.
“It’s also the end of a landmark, if you go up the Pentlands and have a look out, there they are – but they’re not going to be there anymore.
“There can’t be many people who say they’ve blown up their own house though, so that’s quite something!”