More information : The blocks were constructed by Felling Urban District Council. The Primary address is the current street now central to the site where the blocks would have stood. New developments are now on the site. The Former addresses express the name of the development as a whole and also the names of the individual blocks. The Primary name was the name given to the contract for the development. (1)
The process under which the contract was awarded to the consulting architect and engineer, John Poulson was unconventional. The contract did not go out to tender. Poulson gained the contract through his connection with an influential local political figure, Andy Cunningham, nicknamed, 'Mr. Felling'. Cunningham hired Poulson against the advice of his senior official. Crudens were hired as contractors on Poulson's advice. Poulson was the consulting architect for Crudens for the Skarne indusrialised housing system that were used to build the blocks. (2)
Crudens were also hired again for repairs to the blocks; it is not known when or how substantial these repairs were. Following the collapse of Ronan Point in 1968, Felling Urban District Council decided to strengthen the blocks for a further £1 million at no extra cost to Poulson or the building contractor. Problems with the blocks were sited as water ingress, cracked concrete, questionable structural stability, balcony deterioration and poor reputation. The Guardian stated in its article "And the £5 million high rise flats come tumbling down" on 22nd November 1986, that renovations required to bring the flats up to standard would cost £2 million per block - almost enough to completely rebuild them. The Guardian reported that intention at the time of writng was to sell part of the site for private development and to use the rest for more spacious council homes. John Poulson served a seven year jail term in 1974 for corrupt building contracts. During his bankcruptcy trial in 1973, Felling Council were only able to claim back £10,000. (3)
The decision to demolish the flats came in November 1984. Residents of the tower blocks were re-housed over a 25-month period prior to the demoltion. Greencroft Towers was initially intended to be kept and refurbished but was added to the demolition order in 1986 following a study of the costs involved. Demolition of the four blocks was considered in conjunction with the demolition of 4 of 6 seven-storey maisonette blocks, formerly known as St Oswald's Court, also located in Felling and designed by Poulson. Building Design reported in 1984 that Councillor Ken Buckingham threatened court action against Gateshead Council on the grounds that insufficient information was released regarding the real cost of demolition and rebuilding. The debt incurred by the Poulson developments that had been opposed by Buckingham and other councillors were thought to amount to approximately £50 million and would take up to 50 years to pay off. (4)
The demolition of the four tower blocks took place on 12th July 1987 amidst controversy and media coverage. Preparatory demolition work began in January 1987.The 'blow down' was carried out by demolition contractors, Ogden on behalf of Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council at a cost of £1 million. Viewing arrangements for the 'blow down' were made for the media and the general public. (5)
Additional source consulted (6) |