MAIN TRAWSFYNYDD REACTOR BUILDINGS TO BE LOWERED IN 4-YEAR PROJECT

Dramatic change due for former N-plant

- By OWEN HUGHES

Trawsfynydd nuclear reactors in Gwynedd as it is now, above, and how it will look in around four years' time after the main reactor buildings have been lowered from 54 metres high to just 25 metres, below

A FAMOUS if not universally loved - North Wales skyline feature will change dramatically in the coming years.

The region has many iconic landscapes - from the natural rugged beauty of the Eryri mountains to the slate-clad hill sides around Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llanberis.

Another has been created from a more recent industrial revolution with the roll-out of nuclear power stations in the UK in the last century. Trawsfynydd nuclear power station was opened in 1965, the only nuclear power station in the UK to be built inland.

Its two giant reactor buildings towered more than 54 metres into sky with the site generating power until 1991. They were originally designed by renowned architect Sir Basil Spence and were a bold statement of mid-20th-century industrial design. Their striking silhouette has long been a landmark in the region and remain there despite operations ending more than 30 years ago.

Now, though, a contract has been awarded to reduce their size by more than half as part of decades long decommissioning of the site.