Work on the demolition of the Ballymun flats in Dublin will begin next Saturday when the first chunk of Pearse Tower will be removed by a long-reach crane that has never been used before in Ireland.
Some 480 flats in three types of buildings are being demolished in phase one of the Ballymun regeneration programme over the next six months, at a cost of €4.5 million.
Three 15-storey tower blocks (Pearse, McDonagh and Ceannt Towers), four four-storey blocks and one eight-storey spine-block will be demolished in this phase.Three of these buildings contain asbestos-contaminated decorative wall and ceiling coverings. Work is in progress at the moment to prepare the sites for the removal this material.
"We will be enclosing the flats before the stripping work is done to ensure there is no release of fibres," Mr Ciarán Murray, managing director of Ballymun Regeneration, told The Irish Times.
Investigations earlier this year revealed that only half the flats contain asbestos-contaminated material. Mr Murray indicated that research might yet prove that the type of asbestos used in Ballymun is a "harmless product that does not pose any danger".
Pearse and McDonagh Towers will be demolished using a large crane, which was transported to Ireland from the UK on a specially chartered ferry. "A metre of stone is being built up on the ground beside Pearse Tower on top of which the crane will sit. It works its way down through the building, munching it into briefcase-size chunks, biting two sides at a time and swivelling to stabilise the building.
"A space of 20 metres is needed on two sides of the building so that the machine can reach both sides. It will take four weeks for the superlong-reach machine to munch down the first 11 storeys of Pearse Tower. The last four storeys will be demolished using conventional machines," Mr Murray explained.
Ballymun Regeneration Ltd is obliged to recycle 60 per cent of materials arising from the demolitions but will actually recycle 85 per cent, in a concrete-crushing facility on St Margaret's Road in Ballymun. Most of the remaining materials are soft stripping, such as abandoned furniture. The windows will be recycled and the aluminium will be smelted.
Before demolition begins, locals and visitors will gather for a "wake" on Friday night to remember and reminisce about life in the flats. This will involve live music, readings, storytelling, theatre and dance.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, will oversee the start of the demolition on Saturday at noon.
Over the next five years Ballymun's seven 15-storey tower blocks, 19 eight-storey blocks and 10 four-storey blocks of flats will be demolished and replaced with at least 5,000 new homes in a mix of two-, three- and four-storey units in five existing neighbourhoods. Already 600 families have moved from the flats into their new Ballymun Regeneration homes, and a further 900 homes are under construction.