Guest MattP Posted 9 January 2015 Posted 9 January 2015 I saw it. Eye opening stuff. But I thought the mainstream media hid the rich from television and only demonised people on benefits to turn the public against them?
ADK Posted 9 January 2015 Posted 9 January 2015 Whatever they do I hope it's done with care and as part of a coherent strategy for improvement to the City. It won't be though. They'll go with whatever gives them the most short term gain regardless of need or long term viability.
MooseBreath Posted 10 January 2015 Posted 10 January 2015 No point in doing high end in Leicester. Not enough demand for artsy shit. Just whack some decent looking apartments up and have a bit of green space and aim it at young professionals singles, couples and small families. Real easy to grow a city in the current climate. Just build enough accommodation so that prices are more sensible than in other cities and people will flock there. As they do so to will business development. Even easier than sim city.
stez Posted 10 January 2015 Posted 10 January 2015 I saw it. Eye opening stuff. It certainly was. We're slightly more insulated by it up here, but it will happen. House prices since I last bought one (2001ad) compared to now are ridiculous and it will become a renting society. No point in doing high end in Leicester. Not enough demand for artsy shit. Just whack some decent looking apartments up and have a bit of green space and aim it at young professionals singles, couples and small families. Real easy to grow a city in the current climate. Just build enough accommodation so that prices are more sensible than in other cities and people will flock there. As they do so to will business development. Even easier than sim city. It's not in any government's interest to reduce house prices.
DennisNedry Posted 10 January 2015 Posted 10 January 2015 Am I the only one who find it shocking that a building that's only 40 years old is now deemed structurally unsound, when there's plenty of Victorian and older buildings that are still solid?
The People's Hero Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 Just looked at house prices round me for the first time in about 6 months. What the actual F has happened there ?
Dr The Singh Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 Just looked at house prices round me for the first time in about 6 months. What the actual F has happened there ?Wtf has that got to do with the council building , unless that's where u live?
Dr The Singh Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 Am I the only one who find it shocking that a building that's only 40 years old is now deemed structurally unsound, when there's plenty of Victorian and older buildings that are still solid?I was thinking the same. Same goes with bus station, it was built only a few years ago. We're just pissing money up the wall
The People's Hero Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 Wtf has that got to do with the council building , unless that's where u live? Absolutely nothing mate. I refuse to post 'on subject'! What's the best lawnmower anyone on here has ever owned?
Webbo Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 One I bought at Leicester Council Offices. I thought you'd be against council cuts?
Guest Bilo Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 I was thinking the same. Same goes with bus station, it was built only a few years ago. We're just pissing money up the wall I agree with that. So much of the building work done in Leicester in the 1960s and 1970s was substandard it's scary, how many great buildings did we lose in that time period? To see how Leicester changed in that time period is more than a little depressing to be honest. Before After
FoxesAreBlue Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 I agree with that. So much of the building work done in Leicester in the 1960s and 1970s was substandard it's scary, how many great buildings did we lose in that time period? To see how Leicester changed in that time period is more than a little depressing to be honest. Before After I agree with what you're saying here, but aren't those two photos taken facing two opposite directions?
Stadt Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 Absolutely nothing mate. I refuse to post 'on subject'! What's the best lawnmower anyone on here has ever owned? I had this Toyota one that had an ant guard on it once
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 I agree with what you're saying here, but aren't those two photos taken facing two opposite directions? They are, but isn't the Haymarket a shit tip, as is Churchgate and Belgrave Gate - needs some serious sprucing up.
Raj Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 Hope Sir Pete isn't in there when they blow it up-that would be a tragedy.
FoxesAreBlue Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 They are, but isn't the Haymarket a shit tip, as is Churchgate and Belgrave Gate - needs some serious sprucing up.Yes, yes and yesThey're making it worse too; removing the big screen, and that god awful floor they've laid down on humberstone gate... Spent years working in the city centre. Hated it. Now I live down south so happy days. EDIT: I also read they they are taking a lane of traffic out on Welford Road, Hinckley/King Richards Road and elsewhere to put cycle lanes in! Good god Soulsby really is the biggest cvnt around. It's blocked up enough as it is!
Raj Posted 11 January 2015 Posted 11 January 2015 From matalan to town all is a disgusting dump. Belgrave gate-disgusting run down dump. Haymarket-Chav infested dump. Glad i Dont frequent town often. Where's all the money gone Soulsby? Thought through haymarket bus station want that recently renovated anyway???
davieG Posted 22 February 2015 Author Posted 22 February 2015 After months of preparations, the concrete skeletons of Leicester City Council’s crumbling former New Walk Centre headquarters will be razed to the ground on Sunday. The two towers, one 13 storeys and one eight, will take only 10 or so seconds to disappear in a huge cloud of dust. The Mercury plans to have a live feed showing the demolition on our website tomorrow. The buildings will be at the centre of a 150 metre exclusion zone, which will be in place from 6am to 6pm to allow for a major clean-up operation afterwards. Some 400 nearby homes and businesses will be evacuated - before explosive charges and gravity pull down the 16,000 tonnes of concrete which are all that remain of the old council offices, after they have been stripped bare. The high security operation, costing some £3.5 million, is being carried out by demolition firm DSM. Experts have pre-weakened the towers and say they should collapse within their own footprint - largely into the complex’s former underground car park - preventing damage to nearby premises The nearest building to the towers is the council’s Phoenix House, which stands some 15 metres away. DSM contracts manager Billy Young said: “Our overarching aim on the day is safety. “In 15 years I have only ever broken one window. “I aim to keep that record up. “There will be no big bang. There will be a series of detonations for five-and-a-half seconds. “It will look like nothing has happened at first. That’s when most people assume something has gone wrong. “If they are taking pictures they turn away and miss it, because then, five-and-a-half seconds after that, it will start to collapse. “All you will see after the first few floors falling is a big cloud of dust.” No specific time has been given for the demolition, but the process will be millisecond specific. The entire operation can be aborted up to the final moment before the demolition, which can only be triggered by three DSM staff. DSM will record the demolition with seven cameras and possibly a drone. It is hoped the police helicopter can be used to scan the buildings with heat imaging cameras to make sure they are clear. The cordon around the site will be manned by police and security staff to keep people out. Should there be any cause to abort the demolition, DSM says it can reset the process within five minutes and start again. A siren will sound five minutes before the demolition - described as a controlled implosion, or “blow down”. Officials have advised members of the public not to gather around the edges of a tightly monitored 150 metre exclusion zone around the towers. No public viewing arrangements have been made for the event. However it is still expected hundreds, if not thousands, of spectators will be jockeying for position to get a good view of the towers falling. City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “I have spent a lot of time in these buildings over the years, an awful lot of time. “I certainly won’t be shedding any tears over them and I don’t think anyone else will. “It is the single largest demolition project this city has seen, and naturally there will be some excitement. “I will be resisting the suggestions that have been made by some people that I should watch the towers come down from inside. “There will inevitably be some disruption with an operation of this scale and we apologise for that, but the method of demolition we have chosen is the fastest.” Perimeter fencing will be in place to ensure debris and dust are largely contained within the demolition site. The whole operation will be monitored closely by the Health and Safety Executive, which is responsible for overseeing the process and ensuring it meets stringent safety conditions. The exact time of the demolition will be decided by contractors DSM on the day itself, once all the relevant safety checks and preparations have been carried out. Displaced businesses people and residents in the immediate area will be invited to go to a specially set up respite area at Leicester Tigers’ Welford Road ground. There they will able to watch the demolition on a specially set-up big screen feed. THE EXCLUSION ZONE The exclusion zone area is bordered by Upper Brown Street, Chancery Street, part of Pocklington’s Walk, part of Market Street including the Fenwick store, Wellington Street, Park Street, and the bottom section of New Walk from approximately Holy Cross Church. It will extend across New Walk to King Street at its junction with Marquis Street, before crossing Duke Street, Mill Street, and Welford Road near Bannatyne’s gym. It will continue behind buildings on the western side of Welford Road, York Road and behind Newarke Street car park, which will be closed for the demolition. TRAFFIC Drivers heading into Leicester this weekend have been warned there could be extensive disruption caused by the demolition operation The exclusion zone around the demolition site will mean numerous road closures, parking restrictions and diversions for the duration of the demolition. Parking on streets within the exclusion zone will also be suspended from 6pm tonight to ensure no cars are left there. Some bus services will also be diverted for the duration of the demolition. The Southgates Underpass, Newarke Street and Welford Road will be closed to all traffic for the day, along with all other roads in the exclusion zone, with southbound traffic advised to use alternative routes. Southbound traffic using the underpass will be turned around at St Nicholas Circle and directed clockwise round the inner ring road. Traffic bound for Welford Road will be signposted instead clockwise along Vaughan Way, Burleys Way, St Matthews Way, St Georges Way, Waterloo Way and Tigers Way. Drivers leaving the Highcross shopping centre will not be able to use Southgates, but instead will be turned around via St Nicholas Circle and directed onto the inner ring road or Hinckley Road. Newarke Street car park will be closed throughout the demolition, with access to the NCP car park at Duke Street via Regent Road only. BUSES Bus firm Arriva has published detail of how the exclusion zone will affect its services. Arriva Services 48A, 49A, 84, 85, 86, 87 towards the city centre will go down Oxford St then Southgates, Vaughan Way, Abbey Street then to either into St Margaret’s Bus Station or into city centre. Services 47A, 49A, 84, 85, 86, 87 leaving the city centre will pass down Charles Street/Rutland Street then Charles Street, St George's Way, Waterloo Way, Regent Road, Welford Road then to their normal routes. Arriva has apologised for any inconvenience caused to passengers. WHAT NEXT? Once the nearby premises have been cleaned of dust and assessed for any damage the exclusion zone has been lifted the process of removing the rubble will begin. The site should be clear by May. City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby says the council is just weeks away from announcing what will replace the towers. He has promised a mixed-use development, likely to be largely made up of new office accommodation. The council moved out of New Walk in the summer with most of the 1,200 staff based there transferring to the renovated Attenborough House - now called City Hall - in Charles Street. Others moved into smaller council complexes around the city centre. The council had to leave the New Walk Centre, its base for more than 40 years, because structural engineers said the buildings had become unsafe. The council’s insurers therefore said there were no longer willing to cover the premises. More information on arrangements for the demolition is available at: www.leicester.gov.uk/newwalkcentre Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Need-Know-Sunday-s-New-Walk-Centre-Demolition/story-26058849-detail/story.html#ixzz3SSnnQT5t Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook
davieG Posted 22 February 2015 Author Posted 22 February 2015 Gone After the demolition Comments (2)For more than 40 years the two towers of the New Walk Centre helped define Leicester's skyline but this morning they collapsed in a matter of moments. Demolition experts have successfully flattened the distinctive former council offices using a complex mixture of explosive charges and simple gravity. Onlookers gathered at around the tightly manned cordon of a 150 metre exclusion zone while others sought out lofty vantage points across the city to witness the fall of the remnants of the concrete blocks. Only the shells of the 13 and eight storey blocks remained before a five minute siren marked the beginning of the end of the unloved council complex - dubbed Faulty Towers because of its perilous structural state. RELATED CONTENT New Walk Centre demolition footage - filmed from different places in Leicester Picture Gallery : Demolition sequence of the New Walk Centre The defunct 1970s-built former Leicester City Council headquarters vanished in a huge cloud of dust and debris - not with a big bang but a low rumble - at 10am. Officials from demolition contractors DSM said the understood the most dramatic phase of the £3.5 million operation to clear the site - a so-called controlled implosion - had been carried off successfully. Billy Young, DSM’s contract manager, said: “It all went superbly - 100 per cent as planned. The building fell in on itself as we had hoped . “The bits of it that look like they were standing up are meant to be that way because we placed cracking charges on them and that ensured we protected nearby properties . Our main focus now is to return everything to how it was before the demolition and get people back in their homes and businesses as quickly as we can. “ City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby observed the demolition with VIP guests from the roof of a nearby multi-storey car park in Welford Road. He said: “Wow! That was literally awesome. Most people in Leicester will say that has come down and not a minute too soon. I am relieved that the building has fallen exactly as DSM said it would. They have done a remarkably professional job and have wasted no time with the process of cleaning up the nearby streets.” Huge cheers went up from the hundreds of people standing in Pocklington’s Walk as the tower blocks came tumbling down. Then huge clouds of green-grey dust welled up covering the city in a thick fog chasing the watchers up the street. Hairdresser Jayendra Gohel, 65, from Belgrave said: “It was fantastic to see it come down. I have been in Leicester for 30 years and this building has featured in my life here.” Michelle Smith, 48, a carer from Loughborough, said: “I am glad I brought a scarf to protect me from all the dust. I came to see it come down as I used to pay my rent there.” Former council worker Michael Pepper, 68, from Highfields, worked in the tower blocks for more than 20 years. “It was really good to see it come down.” Ian Whitmore (46) of Brauntstone said: “This was a once in a life time experience to see the old council buildings come down and I am glad I was here.” His daughter Emma, 10, said: “It was very exciting.” Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/New-Walk-Centre-demolished/story-26064989-detail/story.html#ixzz3STQkhpXy Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook
Rincewind Posted 22 February 2015 Posted 22 February 2015 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=811718978882327&fref=nf https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=811718978882327&fref=nf
purpleronnie Posted 22 February 2015 Posted 22 February 2015 Seems odd to me that with a continued housing crisis they have introduced a height limit of 6 floors especially given its location.
DB11 Posted 22 February 2015 Posted 22 February 2015 Why did people travel to watch it? There's plenty of videos of 9/11 available and those towers were much bigger.
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