Back in the 1960s, the UK was rapidly expanding its coal-fired generation capacity. Power stations of this era were built to an impressive scale. In the case we’re looking at in this article, we’re talking about four pulverised fuel boilers producing over 100 kg/s of steam each, turbo-alternators delivering nearly 500 MW of electricity and thermal efficiency that ranked among the highest in the country.
These stations were once at the very heart of Britain’s energy network but following the closure of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station on September 30, 2024 there are now zero coal fired power generation plants in the UK. At this site, the majority of the structures including the cooling towers and chimneys came down in the 1990s, however one major structure remained — a vast reinforced concrete basement, abandoned for nearly 30 years.
The challenge
Redeveloping the brownfield site meant more than clearing a simple structure. The reinforced basement was:
- Filled with contaminated water and containing asbestos.
- There was limited historical structural information or drawings.
- Of unknown structural condition after decades underground.
- Situated immediately adjacent to live National Grid high-voltage infrastructure that had to be retained and protected.
- Constructed in massive volumes of reinforced concrete that required both extremely heavy plant but also careful sequencing to dismantle safely.
Our role
Amrose Associates was appointed to provide the design and specification for a safe demolition sequence, along with the necessary temporary works. This included:
- Assessing temporary strength and stability or retained structures and temporary excavations.
- Developing access ramps for heavy plant and equipment.
- Designing temporary earth berms and retained structures to enable safe working.
- Engineering a method that accounted for both the uncertainties of the existing structure and the proximity of critical live services.
The outcome
By combining technical rigour with practical constructability, our team produced a demolition strategy that managed risks and minimised disruption to allow contractors to carry out works efficiently and safely.
For us, this project is a reminder of the challenges typically faced in the safe deconstruction of robust structures from an era when power production, industry and manufacturing dominated the landscape. It is also an excellent example of how we design the solutions that clear the way for future industry, productivity and growth.
Do you have a demolition project that would benefit from our expert engineering and demolition planning input? Call us on 0113 4180694.
