DSM sets town hall blast date…

22 February blast will change Leicester skyline forever.

They have stood over Leicester centre for around 40 years but the tower blocks of the New Walk Centre former council headquarters will disappear from the skyline in a dozen seconds.

The eight and thirteen storey buildings have been declared structurally unsound and last year the city council announced they would be demolished through a so-called controlled initiated collapse using explosive charges.

Now further details of the operation to clear the defunct council complex have been released.

The demolition has been scheduled to take place on the morning of Sunday February 22 with a provisional time of 10am.

Letters have been sent to some 600 businesses and residents who will have to temporarily leave the area from 8am om the morning of the demolition.

They will be invited go to a specially set up centre at Leicester Tigers’ Welford Road ground where the demolition they will be shown live on a big screen.

It is expected they will be able to return to their homes and businesses later that afternoon once the towers are down.

DSM contracts manager Billy Young said: “There will be no damage to adjacent properties.

“Tonnes of concrete will fall into the footprint of the building. We are using a small amount of explosives. Gravity will do most of the job for us.

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