Move to save Ironbridge Power Station towers from demolition

The towering chimneys have been a feature of the Gorge for about 50 years, but their future is uncertain with the power plant set to close before the end of next year.

English Heritage says the towers cannot be protected as they do not meet strict criteria, meaning there is a strong chance they will be demolished. But campaigner Keith Newby says he will fight tooth and nail to protect the landmarks.

The retired chartered engineer, from Eaton upon Tern, originally tried to get the towers listed in 2009. Members of the Gorge Parish Council have also unsuccessfully applied for listed building status for the pink towers.

Mr Newby said: "I believe the cooling towers are of architectural, civil engineering and historic interest as they represent the particular type of construction undertaken in the 20th century."

Under European Union directives, ageing plants like Ironbridge have been legally limited in the emissions they can produce. Ironbridge's operating hours were restricted in 2008.

In 2012, it was given the permission to trial the use of biofuel, bringing 100 new jobs to the station but Eon, which operates the site, does not plan to re-licence it as a biomass plant beyond 2015.

Although some old UK oil and coal power stations awill be kept on standby, Ironbridge will not be one.

But Mr Newby said he believed the case for protecting the power station's towers from the wrecking ball was enhanced by the towers' setting in the Ironbridge Gorge and the area's status as the birthplace of the industrial revolution.

During its construction, architects worked to ensure the power station merged into its natural surroundings with minimal impact, making it almost unique amongst British coal-fired stations.

The towers can barely be seen from the world famous Iron Bridge. They were deliberately constructed using concrete to which a red pigment had been added, to blend with the colour of the local soil, giving them their distinctive red hue.

In the late 1960s Mr Newby was the assistant site manager on the construction of eight cooling towers at Eggborough, North Yorkshire, which is itself under threat.

The first of its four units could shut down as early as September, after the Government blocked a bid last year to convert the power station from coal to biomass production. Mr Newby moved to Shropshire in 1971 to take up a job with Wrekin Construction. Since then he has shown a keen interest in protecting endangered buildings, describing himself as "a bit of a pain to English Heritage".

He helped to get the World War II "pillbox" in Market Drayton listed, as well as the Village Pound in Ollerton, Stoke upon Tern. The pound was designed to hold cattle which had strayed from common land or on to neighbouring farmland until their owners came to claim them.

He said: "I want to save the Ironbridge towers from demolition and keep them in their idyllic setting for posterity and to benefit the heritage of Shropshire and England.

"The argument against listing would be that the towers are not unique and are present at various sites across the country, but in this particular case consideration should be given to the probability of demolition and the loss to the community forever of these structures within the Gorge."

An English Heritage spokesman said: "The Ironbridge 'B' site was the subject of a full assessment for listing in 2010, and although it is clearly of strong local interest, it falls short of the level of technological and architectural interest which would be necessary to merit listing in the national context."

Eon said it was "concentrating on the role the station still has to play as an important part of the UK's energy infrastructure and as such it's too early for us to comment on what may happen following closure". But Mr Newby said the fight would continue. He said: "If it looks like the towers are to be demolished I will resubmit my application to English Heritage. I shan't do a lot different, but I will update the application.

"The towers need protecting. They are part of the historic setting of the Gorge.