Can you pull down the two tallest buildings in a city and not touch the church that’s squeezed in between them?
That question will be answered next month when Dundee’s Derby Street multis are “blown down” in controlled explosions and St Martin’s Church, which fills most of the 70 metres between them, will hopefully be left standing.
At 22 storeys high, Butterburn and Bucklemaker Courts have towered over the Episcopal church for almost 40 years but after June 30 only the place of worship should be on the site.
That is certainly the hope of the Bishop of Brechin, the Rt Reverend Nigel Peyton, who said: “We have faith in the contractors. They are very experienced and have explained very fully what they are going to do.
“It’s not about how much explosive you use to bring down buildings like multi-storey blocks but where you put the explosives to bring them down where you want them and not where you don’t want them to come down.
“We have been working closely with the contractors Safedem and departments of the council and we have been assured they will do all they can to protect the church, as they would any property in a project like this.”
The bishop did add, however: “We have been in contact with our insurers to let them know what is happening, should there be any structural or other damage caused.”
Precious and vulnerable church fittings will be protected from the risk of falling masonry and also from dust and alternative arrangements are being made for worship on the day.
“We will move our service accordingly as it is likely members of our congregation will want to see the demolition,” the bishop continued.
“St Martin’s will be at the centre of a new community of housing and we want to play a full part in the life of that community.”
A spokesman for Safedem said: “In common with every job of this type that we carry out, we take safety and security very seriously and always take every possible precaution.”