New town could be built on power station site
Idea suggested for when Ratcliffe site finally closes
A IDEA to build a new town just three miles from Kegworth is one suggestion being discussed for potential future development of a power station site.
The last of the seven coal-fired power stations in the UK - including one at Ratcliffe-onSoar - are expected to close for good in just six years time as the UK looks to produce more green electricity.
With three of the seven last power stations being in Nottinghamshire, questions are already being asked about what to do with the large quantities of often-contaminated land left behind when they close.
Early in 2018, the Government announced it planned to close all coal-fired power stations by 2025.
Now, a group of industry leaders and politicians is set to come together at a summit to look at what can be done with the land after they close.
Housing, industrial use and warehousing have all been proposed for the sites in Ratcliffe on Soar, just off the A453, and Cottam and West Burton, in Bassetlaw.
At a preliminary meeting on February 4, leading Notts politicians have said they are concerned there have been delays in redeveloping other former power stations in the area.
A report found: “Recent history with power station decommissioning and redevelopment in the East Midlands is mixed, with some former coal-fired stations (Drakelow, High Marnham and Willington) still not redeveloped 15 years after closure.
“We need to work proactively and collaboratively to try to ensure that this does not happen again.”
Coun John Clarke, leader of Labour-run Gedling Borough Council, spoke at a meeting of the heads of all the Nottinghamshire councils.
He said: “If this was in my bor- ough, when it’s done and the land’s been purified, I would create a new town there. That saves us digging up all these lovely green fields that we keep digging up, and you could get several thousand homes on that site. It’s a huge site.
“We do need to get ahead on this. We don’t want a chunk of real estate in the position it’s in left empty. It’s got to be an opportunity we take.”
Coun Simon Robinson is the Conservative leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council, where the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is, and said: “On the failure to develop the previous sites, it is absolutely scandalous, all the pressure on for houses and development, and yet we’ve got power station sites lying empty for years.”
Coun Jo White is the deputy leader of labour-run Bassetlaw District Council, where two of the power stations are.
She said: “I think one of the ideas may be housing, but I prefer personally employment because the access is there, you’ve got the river, you’ve got the roads, the power supply, the rail hubs so everything is there, and for me that’s what we should be looking for.”
Businesses, landowners and politicians are expected to come together for the summit later in the year.