All the road closures as Newcastle tower block Hexham House is demolished
by Kali Lindsay · ChronicleLiveA number of roads will be closed to allow the controlled explosion of a Newcastle tower block to take place.
The explosion of Hexham House is scheduled to take place between 11am and 11.15am on Saturday, November 30. The clean-up of the site after the explosion is expected to take several months.
Residents living near to Hexham House, in Walker, have been asked to leave their properties by 10.30am on Saturday with an exclusion zone being set up to make sure the demolition can happen safely.
A number of road closures have also been put in place between 8am and 3pm to allow contractor Thompson of Prudhoe to undertake the works. Motorists are also being urged to remove their cars from the exclusion zone to ensure their vehicles are not damaged during the blast.
Full list of roads closed:
- Titan Road
- Duncan Street
- Ingram Terrace
- Hedgeley Terrace
- Hexham Avenue
- Birch Terrace
- Hexham Court
- Midway
- Fairhaven Avenue
- Berry Close
- Whitworth Close
- Whitworth Place
The explosive demolition will be the first of its kind in Newcastle since 2008, when Sir Bobby Robson pushed the button as the old Scottish and Newcastle Brewery was reduced to rubble.
The demolition of Hexham House is part of the council’s plans for the regeneration of Walker and will pave the way for up to 50 new affordable homes including some accessible properties.
Full plans are still to be confirmed but the new homes will be built with energy efficiency in mind to help deliver more cleaner, greener homes in the city.
Hexham House’s former neighbour, Titan House, was pulled down last year in a gradual process that saw “nibbling machines” used to remove the block. The city council said in March that there had been “concerns” arising from that process and that a controlled explosion was now deemed the safest option for the second tower.
Plans to get rid of the two blocks have been in the works for years and have suffered multiple setbacks – including when, in 2022, officials warned that work to remove asbestos from the empty sites has been “made more challenging” after a gang of thieves broke in to steal copper piping.
As part of the wider redevelopment of the area the council is also planning to demolish the low-rise flats and shops in Church Walk which have been empty for some time.
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