Demolition to start at Ironbridge Power Station

Planners have ruled that Uniper, which owns Buildwas Power station does not need prior approval to demolish conveyors 6 and 7 and accompanying conveyor tower between the National Grid substation and main power station buildings at the site on Buildwas Road.

It is the first stage of the clearing of the station, which is due to be knocked down in its entirety next summer.

Uniper says it needs to bring these first buildings down because of ongoing risks and to make way for full demolition.

It announced in February that it had put the 141-hectare site up for sale.

The company said it had reached the decision to seek a buyer after considering a number of options for the site. The coal-fired and latterly biomass power station which had been generating on the site ceased operations in November 2015.

The site is nearing completion of decommissioning and full demolition of the site is expected to begin in 2018 subject to Shropshire Council approval.

The decision on the first stage of the demolition was made on June 22.