- Operating for more than 50 years, the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station will close at the end of September 2024.
- Commissioned in 1968 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000 MW.
- It is the only coal fired power station still operational in the UK.
- Its buildings, cooling towers and other structures will be decommissioned and demolished, making the site and surrounding land suitable to be redeveloped as a zero-carbon technology and energy hub for the East Midlands.
Consultants Arup, working with Uniper, the site owner, supported Rushcliffe Borough Council to establish a Local Development Order (LDO) to make the most out of the potential development opportunities of the site.
Illustrative masterplan of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station site. Image credit: Uniper
Ensuring the needs of future occupiers and investors are accommodated and potential risks mitigated, this planning framework envisages the construction of up to 810,000 m2 of advanced manufacturing, green energy generation and logistics floorspace. The new facility will create between 7,000 and 8,000 local job opportunities, generating £513m per year for the East Midlands economy and turning the Ratcliffe power station site into a catalyst for the local area’s wider economic growth.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Source: ARUP
