The four cooling towers of the former coal Rugeley Power Station in Staffordshire were demolished yesterday.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch the spectacle.

Under a controlled collapse, the 117-metre high structures, a symbol of fossil fuel power, are now a thing of the past, making way for the site’s low carbon redevelopment.

ENGIE, owner of the Rugeley Power Station site, will now start work on transforming it into a development of 2,300 new low carbon homes and a school.

Two months ago, the firm was granted planning permission for the project from Cannock Chase District Council and Lichfield District Council.

Rugeley coal power station closed in 2016, after generating electricity for more than half a century.

Watch the demolition below on the video from the ENGIE YouTube channel:

Colin Macpherson, Divisional Chief Executive Officer for ENGIE UK & Ireland, said: “The next ten years are crucial to address the climate crisis – and in the same timescale this regeneration project will become a reference of sustainable living fit for the UK’s net zero future.”

Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “We are committed to building back greener from the pandemic and ENGIE’s low carbon regeneration project is a great initiative demonstrating how industrial sites can be revitalised to provide sustainable living.”