Walker tower blocks demolition delayed by pipe thieves

Hexham House and Titan House in Walker are due for demolition

The demolition of two tower blocks has been further delayed after thieves broke in and stole copper piping.

Newcastle City Council had wanted to pull down the two 16-storey blocks in Walker and replace them with 50 homes by the spring of 2021.

But repeated delays mean Titan House and Hexham House are still standing.

Currently, demolition of Hexham House is due to run from July to October followed by Titan House.

Civic centre officials said work to remove asbestos from the site has been "made more challenging" after a gang of thieves broke in to steal copper piping, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A council spokesman said the buildings were "handed over" to the appointed demolition contractor in February.

He said: "Material containing asbestos is now being removed before demolition begins.

"This was made more challenging due to thieves breaking into the secured buildings to steal copper piping."

New shops

In 2018, some of the few remaining tenants of the two blocks claimed the buildings were being used as drug dens and had become full of "troublemakers".

All Your Homes Newcastle tenants who were living at the Walker towers have now been moved.

There are also plans for a wider regeneration of the area which will also see the Church Walk Shopping Centre bulldozed and new shops opening on the site of the former Rathbone Centre.

The council spokesman said work was also under way to create new shops at the base of Churchwalk House, and a planning application had been submitted for three additional shops on adjacent land. 

"Once these have been completed, in early 2023, the existing shopping centre will be demolished and redeveloped," the spokesman said.