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Tower blocks demolished for second phase of £215m student village

9 May 2011

Two 1970s accommodation blocks at Aston University have been reduced to rubble to begin the key second phase of the £215m Aston Student Village development.

Dalton and Lawrence Towers, off James Watt Queensway in Birmingham, were blown down by DSM Demolition on Sunday (May 8th), dramatically changing the City Centre’s skyline.

A major exclusion zone was in place across the University’s campus and nearby roads and footpaths, with a total of 1,500 students evacuated on the day. Students were able to watch the demolition in progress on big screens from the safety of Aston Students’ Union.


The old towers will be replaced by new en-suite accommodation for 1050 students and a number of business units to help encourage investment in the City of Birmingham’s Eastside. The new residences, due to be complete by 2014, will feature wind turbines and storm water recycling technologies. The building will ‘wrap around’ James Watt Queensway and Aston Street creating a vastly extended green landscaped area at the very heart of Aston’s campus. The development will take total campus accommodation to 2,400 rooms following completion of the successful first phase of the Aston Student Village last year. This stage featured 1,300 en-suite bedrooms, a multi-faith room and an 11-a-side all weather sports pitch. 

View a slideshow of the demolition

[ Zoom ]
Lawrence & Dalton Towers demolished

The new Aston Student Village forms part of an overall £300m investment into Aston’s campus, including new multi-million pound research centres for health and low carbon technologies and new sports facilities.

View BBC footage of the demolition

For further information please contact Alex Earnshaw, University Communications on 0121 204 4549 or a.earnshaw@aston.ac.uk

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