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The Demolition Of Inverkip Power Station Chimney, 28 July 2013
The demolition of the former Inverkip Power Station chimney, Scotland's tallest free-standing structure, took place at 2200 hrs on Sunday 28 July 2013.
The demolition attracted large crowds of spectators, many in boats and yachts, and a special cruise to Inverkip Bay from Victoria Harbour in Greenock was offered.
The 236m tall chimney, composed of over 1.4 million bricks and 20,000 tonnes of concrete, was a prominent landmark and could be seen from many miles around. Inverkip Power Station was an oil-fired power station, designed by Robert Matthew, the founder of RMJM (then Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall). Construction began in 1970 for the then South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB), commissioning took place in 1976 and any capability of generation ceased in January 1988 although the plant is said to have been operational to capacity only in 1984/85 at the height of the 'miner's strikes'. The SSEB was privatised as Scottish Power in 1991 - they maintained Inverkip as mothballed strategic reserve until decommissioning in 2006. The decision was taken to clear the site in 2010 and housing and small business developments are likely to take place at the site in the future.
The chimney demolition was carried out by Scottish Power's contractors, Brown and Mason Ltd and involved the placement of 700 charges about half way up the structure, and a further 450 charges at the base, the former being set off one second before the later, to bring about a contained fall, to the south-east, of no more than a 150m spread. A 600m exclusion zone was put in place five hours prior to the demolition, and 70 police officers and 40 security staff were present. The nearby A78 and Glasgow to Wemyss Bay railway line were closed for a short while before and after demolition. Brown and Mason's remit at Inverkip is 'asbestos removal, demolition and site clearance of power station structures down to ground floor slab level, with an option to carry out below ground works generally down to a level of 2m below ground level'. They are expected to have completed works on site by September 2013 at a cost of £14.5M.
A video shot by me at low tide from the mouth of the Garhallow Burn between Bullwood and Innellan, south of Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula at OS grid reference NS162736 can be found on YouTube at Link
The demolition attracted large crowds of spectators, many in boats and yachts, and a special cruise to Inverkip Bay from Victoria Harbour in Greenock was offered.
The 236m tall chimney, composed of over 1.4 million bricks and 20,000 tonnes of concrete, was a prominent landmark and could be seen from many miles around. Inverkip Power Station was an oil-fired power station, designed by Robert Matthew, the founder of RMJM (then Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall). Construction began in 1970 for the then South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB), commissioning took place in 1976 and any capability of generation ceased in January 1988 although the plant is said to have been operational to capacity only in 1984/85 at the height of the 'miner's strikes'. The SSEB was privatised as Scottish Power in 1991 - they maintained Inverkip as mothballed strategic reserve until decommissioning in 2006. The decision was taken to clear the site in 2010 and housing and small business developments are likely to take place at the site in the future.
The chimney demolition was carried out by Scottish Power's contractors, Brown and Mason Ltd and involved the placement of 700 charges about half way up the structure, and a further 450 charges at the base, the former being set off one second before the later, to bring about a contained fall, to the south-east, of no more than a 150m spread. A 600m exclusion zone was put in place five hours prior to the demolition, and 70 police officers and 40 security staff were present. The nearby A78 and Glasgow to Wemyss Bay railway line were closed for a short while before and after demolition. Brown and Mason's remit at Inverkip is 'asbestos removal, demolition and site clearance of power station structures down to ground floor slab level, with an option to carry out below ground works generally down to a level of 2m below ground level'. They are expected to have completed works on site by September 2013 at a cost of £14.5M.
A video shot by me at low tide from the mouth of the Garhallow Burn between Bullwood and Innellan, south of Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula at OS grid reference NS162736 can be found on YouTube at Link
Created: Thu, 1 Aug 2013, Updated: Thu, 1 Aug 2013
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