Huge towers could soon come tumbling down

POWER STATION'S OWNER ASKS FOR PERMISSION TO DEMOLISH

- By JOSHUA HARTLEY

HUGE cooling towers at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station dominate the skyline but have lain dormant since the UK's last coal-fired power station was switched off last year.

Now owner Uniper has applied for permission to demolish them with controlled explosives.

The 273-acre site that hosts the closed power station has been earmarked for a new zero-carbon manufacturing and technology hub, which will be part of the East Midlands Freeport a zone that offers businesses financial incentives to create jobs.

But first, its hulking structures must be knocked down and cleared, which will take until at least 2030.

The huge task will likely include four “significant” controlled explosions to demolish the cooling towers, chimneys, boiler house and bunker bay, and up to 16 lesser ones to demolish areas such as the exhaust ducts, electrostatic precipitators, selective catalyst reduction plant, silo towers, selected conveyors and junction towers and a mill building.