OPPONENTS of the demolition of Glasgow's Red Road flats during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony are threatening to occupy an exclusion zone around the blocks in a bid to prevent the controversial plan going ahead.
The Citizens United Against Cuts to Public Services group has told The Herald it has 30 volunteers ready to disrupt the planned demolition in an act of civil disobedience.
A resident of Barmulloch Road, who was sent a letter telling him he will have to leave his home during the event for safety reasons, has vowed to refuse.
The threats came as Shona Robison, the Commonwealth Games minister, backed the demolition as a bold and dramatic part of the opening ceremony. Her statement was the first from a Scottish minister on the plans.
"As part of the Games Strategic Group I believe the proposals symbolise a bold statement of intent on the power of the Games to be a catalyst for regeneration and positive change," the minister said. "For many people, these Games are more than sport, they are a chance for regeneration, renewal and having better places to live and work."
A petition against using the destruction of five of the six remaining Red Road towers as part of the ceremony has attracted more than 16,000 signatures.
Meanwhile, the family of Red Road architect Sam Bunton accused Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg of "completely disingenuous conduct" after he insisted the towers would be brought down at the July 23 ceremony before of a meeting to discuss their concerns.
A letter from the family of Mr Bunton in The Herald today states: "The proposal is crass and appalling. Glasgow 2014 has to listen, and has to find a compromise. It is time for the Scottish Government to step in and show leadership."
Their actions are not connected, but both Mr Bunton's family and the protest group say the plan is tasteless.
One exclusion-zone resident, who asked not to be named as he fears a court order may be used to to shift him, said: "It's the biggest load of nonsense I've ever heard.
"They've said it will cause a 'wow factor' and we can watch it on the screens. I'm not interested in that and I'm not happy about them blowing them up for entertainment. How about building a memorial to all the boys who built them and died because of asbestos instead?"
Sean Clerkin, of the Citizens United group, insisted he was "deadly serious" about the plan to disrupt the demolition. "We'll be inside the exclusion zone," Mr Clerkin said, "and have people who won't be leaving their homes under any circumstances."
Glasgow 2014 has said it will not carry out the demolition unless it is safe to do so. A spokesman for GHA said it would work with partners, including the police, to ensure the public stick to the exclusion-zone boundaries.
In response to Mr Bunton's family, a Glasgow 2014 spokeswoman said: "We welcome the opportunity to discuss our plans at a meeting … At the meeting we will share more about the context and importance of Red Road's role within the ceremony."
First Minister Alex Salmond was first told of the plan to demolish the towers as part of the ceremony at a meeting in February, and raised no concerns.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article