More than 200lbs of explosives razed a former government department in the centre of Belfast today.
The 17-storey Churchill House disappeared from the city skyline in seconds to make way for a multi-million pound redevelopment scheme. Thousands of people turned out to cheer as the 1960s office block was demolished. The office block, until recently the home of hundreds of civil servants working for the Department of Social Development, was the last, and largest, building to be cleared from Victoria Square to make way for a £300 million retail and residential development.
Dutch developers AM Developments have been clearing the site for months prior to the start of construction . Mr Jon Munce, their technical project manager, said as the building came down: "We followed strict regulations when preparing for this historic day with the surrounding city centre area closed off to the public for a number of hours this morning."
As part of the security measures, each of the 2,000 charges placed around the building were cemented into place to ensure no-one could tamper with or remove them.
Five minutes before 10 a.m, a klaxon sounded, seconds before a flare shot into the sky and then, after a muted detonation, the building came down, folding in on itself. There were cheers from the crowd and handshakes among the demolition experts relieved that the office block had landed where they wanted and not scattered itself over nearby streets.
Construction work on Victoria Square is due to be completed in 2007. The development will provide over 800,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space including a 200,000 sq ft store for anchor tenant House of Frazer 100 luxury apartments and 1,000 underground parking spaces.
Mr Paul Sargent, managing director of AM Developments (UK) said: "Today's implosion symbolises a new beginning in Belfast. Victoria Square will be a flagship project, which will promote a new image of Belfast as a thriving, high-quality retailing centre.
PA