This week, specialist equipment worth £1.5m has been used to start razing the multistorey car park at the 1960s shopping centre to the ground.

It marks the next stage of the work to bulldoze the site to make way for 1,100 homes, after engineers gutted the inside of the structures, ready for them to be crushed to pieces.

The multistorey car park at Anglia Square is being demolished (Image: Owen Sennitt)

Once the car park is turned to rubble, demolition will then begin on the Hollywood Cinema building and Sovereign House, where Her Majesty's Stationery Office was once located.

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The huge hydraulic crusher, with jaws reminiscent of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, could be seen taking chunks out of the multistorey car park's elevator shaft this morning (February 16).

The multistorey car park at Anglia Square is being demolished (Image: Owen Sennitt)

It is one of the tallest buildings in this part of the city, in Magdalen Street.

The central square and shops have already been demolished, with the glass canopy and clock safely removed.

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Mike Stonard, leader of Norwich City Council, said the demolition work is on track and is expected to continue until the end of May.

He said: "It is brilliant to see the multistorey car park coming down, making another milestone on the road to building 1,100 affordable homes and regenerating the area for local people."

As work continues to demolish the rest of the site, the first tranche of affordable homes will soon be taking shape on the surrounding car park on the western side.

The multistorey car park at Anglia Square is being demolished (Image: Owen Sennitt)

Ben Luckett, chair of Aviva Capital Partners, which has invested heavily in the project, says the regeneration scheme has lots of potential.

"We look for areas in need of regeneration and thought this was a great investment opportunity for Aviva and the city.

"Aviva has been in Norwich since 1792, so local regeneration opportunities like this, which will provide housing, rental and leisure, are core to our strategy."

While demolition progress is going well, the overall £350m project will take years to finalise and will be completed in phases.

© Eastern Daily Press