Long arm of the machine brought in to demolish outdated tower block

SPECIALIST machinery was brought in yesterday to demolish tower blocks in Leeds.

The demolition of selected tower blocks across Leeds is part of a major housing regeneration project which got underway yesterday in the Little London area of the city, with the machinery being used on Carlton Towers.

The high-reach machine is one of only two in the country that can reach to a height of nearly 50 meters, as tall as 10 double decker buses. It will remove the top layers of the tower block by nibbling away at the building.

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Leeds City Council is demolishing outdated blocks in advance of the appointment of a contractor for the building of new council homes and refurbishment of existing ones as part of a Private Finance Initiative project.

Holbeck Towers, Gaitskell Court and Grange in Holbeck are also due for demolition as part of a project starting in March this year.

Coun Les Carter, executive member for Neighbourhoods and Housing at Leeds City Council, attended yesterday's demolition, as did Lloyd Lythe, one of the first residents of Carlton Towers.

Mr Lythe lived there for years, moving into his new council flat in Carlton Towers in February 1959. He has since been rehoused.