Bulldozers take over 'eyesore flats' (From Witney Gazette)

Bulldozers take over 'eyesore flats'

8:07am Friday 1st August 2008 in Headlines By David Horne

BULLDOZERS have finally moved in to demolish mothballed former RAF flats in Carterton.

Demolition has begun on the RAF service family quarters, at Northwood Crescent, built in the 1960s and '70s, but which have been derelict for the past few years.

Witney MP David Cameron has brought up the condition of the quarters in Parliament, and last week one of the leading local campaigners to see them come tumbling down said the demolition would 'dramatically improve Carterton'.

Adrian Coomber, chairman of the Neighbourhood Action Group, said: "It is a great relief for the people of Carterton to finally see these flats demolished.

"They have been left unoccupied for a very long time, and they have attracted vandals and squatters. This will dramatically improve Carterton in that area."

The demolition paves the way for construction of new homes for officers and airmen, who will staff the next generation of RAF transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.

Ministry of Defence contractors are pulling down flats in Northwood Crescent, Upwood Drive, and Stanmore Crescent over the next six months. In all, about 70 flats, assessed to have reached the end of their useful life, are going.

The operation is expected to take about ten weeks to complete, with the surrounding area levelled and seeded.

Town mayor, Maxine Crossland, said: "We have been waiting some time for this finally to happen, and I am delighted to see the bulldozers moving in.

"We realise that no new houses will be going up till next year. It is a long process, that will eventually take several years."