Alison Alderton reports…
FURTHER demolition to the former Cottam Power Station on the banks of the River Trent in Nottinghamshire has taken place.
Cottam Power Station was commissioned in 1968 and capable of generating enough electricity for 3.7m homes. It was originally designed to be operational for 30 years but had its life extended to 2019, when it was finally closed for good – decommissioned by EDF Energy.
On March 20, the seventh explosion in a series of blasts undertaken in controlled conditions finally brought down the main chimney stack in what has been described as a ‘high profile event’ requiring the presence of the police.
Other structures, including the iconic cooling towers which, for many years, have been used as a way-marker for boaters travelling on the tidal River Trent, will be brought down by explosive demolition at a later date with complete demolition of the site expected in early 2026.
The Trent Valley once housed 13 of the 78 power stations in England and Wales, generating a quarter of the power needed for the two countries as well as providing hundreds of jobs at both the power stations and Yorkshire collieries.
Love it or hate it, the so-called Megawatt Valley – the powerhouse of Britain – is slowly being transformed before boaters’ eyes and, as it happens, changing the face of this once mighty commercial river valley forever.
