Date set for Fiddlers Ferry Power Station blowdown

The Fiddlers Ferry Power Station was decommissioned in 2020, after 50 years of services. (Adobe Stock/Phil Noble)

Civil engineering and demolition contractor PP O’Connor, which secured the contract for the works earlier this year, will bring down four of the coal-fired plant’s eight towers via an explosive event on Sunday, 3 December, 2023.

Situated at the northern end of the Fiddlers Ferry site and measuring 115 m high, the concrete structures will be brought down via an explosive event. The blowdown is expected to be carried out between 08.00 and 12.00 hours, and is anticipated to produce a dust cloud that could last up to 15 minutes.

Commenting on his company’s involvement in the project earlier this year, Peter O’Connor, Managing director of P.P. O’Connor, said: “Fiddler’s Ferry is a highly prestigious location, and we are very proud to be involved in this project. We look forward to working with Peel NRE to achieve its vision in the regeneration of this strategic site.

“We are a North West based business and have deployed our local team of experts to this project. During the peak of the project, we will have around 120 PP O’Connor staff and over 50 pieces of plant and equipment on the project.

Petter added: “We will be utilising our local workforce to deliver this project and create further job opportunities in the local communities.”

Fiddlers Ferry Power Station, which was decommissioned in 2020 in line with the UK Government’s phasing out of coal-fired energy generation plants, is currently owned by natural resources and energy company Peel NRE.

The 820-acre Fiddlers Ferry site is being cleared for redevelopment as part of a long-term, mixed-use regeneration scheme to boost the region’s economy, with 1,700 new homes and the creation of over 100 acres of commercial and industrial land.

Kieran Tames, Development Director for Peel NRE said: “It’s exciting to have reached this point and we are taking a step closer to regenerating the former power station. This regeneration will secure future investment for Warrington, Halton and the wider region.