Towers demolition Motherwell started 2023 finished 7 th Dec 2025

For more than half a century, the Allan, Draffen and Coursington Towers stood over the skyline of Motherwell. Built between 1969 and 1970 during a period of rapid post-war housing development, the three 20-storey blocks were designed to provide modern council housing for hundreds of local families. Together, the towers contained 351 flats and became some of the town’s most recognisable landmarks. The towers were constructed using the Cruden-Skarne large panel system, a style of high-rise building common across Britain in the late 1960s. For decades they housed generations of residents and overlooked the area between Dalziel Street and Wilson Street. Although later upgraded with cladding, insulation and improved heating, changing housing needs and long-term regeneration plans eventually led to their closure. On Sunday 7 December 2025, huge crowds gathered to witness the controlled demolition of the three blocks in a single coordinated blowdown. Safety exclusion zones covered hundreds of nearby homes and businesses while demolition experts prepared the site. The final detonation was symbolically triggered by 91-year-old former caretaker Danny Devine alongside local schoolboy Joseph Carroll, marking the end of an era for Motherwell. The towers collapsed within seconds, dramatically transforming the town’s skyline. Their demolition formed part of North Lanarkshire Council’s wider regeneration programme, with plans for new mixed-amenity and energy-efficient housing on the cleared site. For many locals, the destruction of Allan, Draffen and Coursington Towers was both a moment of renewal and a poignant farewell to a familiar piece of Motherwell’s history.