Plans could see 33 tower blocks demolished in Northern Ireland

By David Hunter

Residents of tower blocks in Northern Ireland are to be contacted to explain proposals for their potential demolition.

A public consultation exercise has been launched to gauge views on the Housing Executive plan for 33 high rises in the region.

The authority proposes to move residents from almost half of the buildings (15) within five years, another 10 within 10 years and eight over a longer 10-year-plus time-frame.

With the cost of refurbishing the 33 blocks estimated at over £300 million, last month the authority said it intended to phase out use of the mainly social housing blocks and rehouse residents in new accommodation.

Tenants and leaseholders, political representatives and members of the wider community are being encouraged to contribute to the consultation

Launching the consultation, a spokesman for the Housing Executive said: "Our prime concern is that everyone has a safe and comfortable place to live and over the last three years we have been developing a strategy for all our housing, including

our tower blocks.

"All our tower blocks were constructed in the 1960s and are now over 50 years old and we believe that they require substantial and ongoing investment to provide the best housing.

"The estimated investment required over the next 30 years is in excess of £308m.

"We believe that this money would be better spent on replacing the tower blocks with new accommodation and we are proposing that, over a period of time, we will no longer use tower blocks for housing.

"We want to ensure that everyone is consulted and has the opportunity to have their say.

"During the consultation exercise we will fully explain our proposals and we also want to get a clear understanding of resident's needs and their thoughts on future housing aspirations for them and their neighbourhoods.

"Once plans have been firmed up, we will seek the necessary approvals from the relevant government departments."

The 33 Housing Executive owned blocks contain 1,931 flats, of which 281 are now privately owned and 29 are used for hostel accommodation.