Nottinghamshire power station's chimney to be ripped down by '10 second series of explosions' soon

Part of a Nottinghamshire power station will be ripped down by a 10 second series of explosions as work continues to turn the vast site into a ground-breaking nuclear reactor. The West Burton A power station in Retford was shut on March 31 last year, allowing demolition to start on the huge coal-fired structure in June 2023.

The 1960s power plant will make way for the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme, which will set up the UK's first nuclear fusion energy plant in north Nottinghamshire. This prototype will hopefully create a virtually limitless source of clean electricity by copying the processes that power the sun.

However, before billions of pounds of investment and thousands of new jobs can flow into the county, contractor Brown and Mason has to completely knock down the towering remnants from the age of coal. The demolition firm has now explained that a set of controlled explosions will mark the next stage of the project on Thursday, November 21.

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In a letter, which was sent to neighbours ahead of the "milestone", the company said: "On November 21 we have the third explosive event scheduled at 10am to bring down the Absorbers Unit 1 & 2 and GT Chimney. The explosive demolition event will not impact local businesses, residents, community or local traffic.

"There will be a number of small explosions over a short period of time (approximately 10 seconds) during which time the structures will collapse under controlled conditions. Although the explosion and collapse may be heard off site, any noise will be over very quickly."

The Brown and Mason representative assured locals that any dust from the explosion would be contained to the site, with road sweepers on standby in the unlikely situation they are needed. Any dust generated will be controlled on site. road sweepers will be available although it's anticipated they will not be required.

It would have no impact on nearby roads, according to the company, and no emergency services would be needed on site apart from a very small police presence. The letter added details for the demolition of other main structures on the site, like the main chimney, cooling towers, and boiler house, would be provided to neighbours nearer to the time.

The demolition works, which are expected to finish in early 2028, were progressing in line with the planned schedule, Brown and Mason said. Bassetlaw's new Labour MP Jo White recently called for a new railway station and road improvements to be made in preparation for the STEP fusion plant, which is expected to be operational by 2040.