Ferrybridge cooling towers: Final three towers to be demolished

It’s the end of an era as the final three cooling towers at the Ferrybridge ‘C’ Power Station will be demolished tomorrow

It is the culmination of a three-year project at the former coal-fired power station, which was officially closed by SSE in March 2016 having produced electricity for more than 50 years.

placeholder image — It’s the end of an era as the final three cooling towers at the Ferrybridge ‘C’ Power Station will be demolished tomorrow. (Picture: Simon Hulme)

SSE’s principal contractor Keltbray will carry out the blowdown using controlled explosives. An exclusion zone approved by the HSE will be put in place.

This means there will be no requirement for anyone to leave their properties.

As they once were: It is the culmination of a three-year project at the former coal-fired power station, which was officially closed by SSE in March 2016 having produced electricity for more than 50 years.

In August 2021, COP26 president and government minister Alok Sharma, pressed the button to demolish two chimney stacks and the main boiler house at the site.

The recognisable power station has towered over the towns of Ferrybridge and Knottingley for more than 50 years, and is largely considered a local landmark.

Ferrybridge C, as the site is officially known, opened in 1966. It closed in 2016, and demolition work began in December 2018.

Major demolition work began the following year, with one cooling tower removed in July.

In October 2019, thousands of people gathered to watch the main blowdown, which saw four of the remaining cooling towers crumble to the ground in one spectacular event.