Final countdown on gas towers begins

THE countdown to tear down the town’s iconic gas towers on Black Road has begun.

The gasholders have loomed over the town for more than a hundred years, storing natural gas which provided power to thousands of homes across Macclesfield.

But advances in technology means the structures are now obsolete, and National Grid has been given planning permission to remove them for good.

KDC Contractors Ltd will carefully dismantle the original tower - built in 1899 - over the next few months, and the second gasholder, which was built in 1925 and sits below ground, will soon be filled in, making the site clear for development by January 2017.

The cleared land has been identified as a site for employment uses in the proposed Local Plan.

Chris Taylor, project manager, said: “This has been a complicated project and we are pleased to say we are on track for completing the removal of the gasholder before Christmas. We also want to thank our neighbours for their patience with us while we finish at the site.”

Macclesfield MP David Rutley, who visited the site, added: “I am pleased to have been able to see these impressive structures up close and also the thorough work that is going on to safely redevelop the site for the future. I am a keen supporter of redeveloping industrial sites and this work represents a great opportunity to find a new way to make the site work for the whole community.”

Work on dismantling the gasholders began in June and workers are expected to be completely off site in January 2017.