Demolition work gathers pace on ageing Dedworth tower blocks

Demolition work is underway on the first of four ageing tower blocks in Dedworth.

Housing association Abri’s regeneration of Sawyers Close will see the area’s 1960s apartment blocks knocked down and replaced with 413 homes.

The project, known as The Granges, will provide affordable housing for Dedworth residents through social rented homes, affordable rent or shared ownership.

The development will feature nine blocks which include a mixture of flats, maisonettes and houses.

Every household at Sawyers Close will be guaranteed one of the new properties in the development, Abri said.

Windsor and Maidenhead council gave the green light for the scheme in December 2023.

Additional land was transferred to Abri from the council which increased the size of the site, allowing more homes to be built. Work on the project began in August last year. The apartment block, Winwood, is the first of the worn out towers to be demolished.

Dasos Christou, regional managing director for Abri in the South East, said: “These four tower blocks are over 60 years old and while they have been great homes, their age is really starting to show.

“Abri is replacing them with its largest ever regeneration, The Granges, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to providing safe, warm and affordable homes.”

The regeneration project has been funded with £176million from Abri, including £34.4million awarded from Homes England.

The demolition of Winwood is expected to take up to three weeks.

The Hill Group, Abri’s construction partner, is knocking the building down floor by floor using an ultra high reach demolition excavator.

Winwood residents have been given the choice to either move into the other tower blocks or be found homes elsewhere in Dedworth as their homes are emptied and demolished.

The three remaining towers are expected to be knocked down between 2027 and 2030.

The major regeneration project could be completed by 2032.