# Willington Cooling Towers, Derbyshire, March 2016



## HughieD

This place is quite like anything else I’ve seen, possibly with the exception of RAF Stenigot. Explored with non-member GazzaM. There are few sites you can see five or so miles before you get to them. The five cooling towers at Willington dominate the flood planes of the Trent. You don’t really get the scale of them until you get up close and their size sinks in. The site itself is easy access and a really relaxed explore. Three of the five have still got the inner cooling systems in while the two nearest the main road have been cleared and are just shells. The site itself has been cleared and just the cooling towers are left. It gives an even more surreal feeling to the place. All-in-all a fantastic place. Hope that they don’t knock these titans to power generation down.

Here’s the history bit:

The coal-fired power station at Willington was built in the 1950s. Willington Power Station actually comprised of two almost entirely independent generating stations situated on the same site. With separate management and staff, the few facilities they shared amounted to the coal and water supply. The two stations were formally known as Willington ‘A’ and Willington ‘B’, with the ‘A’ Station closest to the main road. Station A came on line in 1957 and the B station a few years later. Two of the cooling towers belonged to the A station and 3 to the B station.Having operated throughout the 60s,70s and 80s on a nationalised basis they were then privatised and sold to National Power in 1989. It eventually closed in the 1990s, first station A in 1995 then the B station in 1999. As mentioned above most of the power station was demolished around 2000. The site was earmarked for a large residential development, pending the results of a public inquiry however the construction plans met with local opposition and in January 2009 the proposed redevelopment of the former Willington Power Station site were not granted planning approval. In the mid-1990s a pair of peregrine falcons nested in one of the site's huge cooling towers. Unlike many bird of prey breeding sites, this was widely publicised because of its impregnable location. In July 2013 plans were submitted to build a new gas-fired power station and if granted the cooling towers will be demolished.

The five towers dominate the Trent flood planes:


img3886 by HughieDW, on Flickr

They really are a stunning sight:


img3955 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3884 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3887 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The site around them is like some kind of flattened industrial wasteland:

img3890 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3892 by HughieDW, on Flickr

It seems unfeasible how the towers are held up by the concrete pillars:


img3898 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3899 by HughieDW, on Flickr

They literally tower above you:


img3902bw by HughieDW, on Flickr

Three have the internals in-tact, including the brick cooling fins:


img3905 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3907 by HughieDW, on Flickr

There’s even some graff in there:


img3906 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Most of the machinery has gone except for these fellas:


img3927 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img3909 by HughieDW, on Flickr

You can walk right into the centre of the towers:


img3913 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3917 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3914 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Best not fall off the concrete walk-way:


img3919 by HughieDW, on Flickr

On to the two that have had the inners cleared:


img3956 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3933 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3945 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The view inside is as sublime as it is surreal:


img3938 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3934 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Outside the towers are smooth and featureless bar the odd hatch:


img3928 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img3931 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Bye bye five brothers…


img3957 by HughieDW, on Flickr


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## jsp77

Nice one Hughie, cracking photos.


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## tazong

Wow that really is a epic site - fantastic photos


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## smiler

That is really good Hughie, I loved it, Thanks


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## tumble112

These are breathtaking.....


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## Scaramanger

I thought I read they were coming down this month but could be wrong.... Cool pics btw


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## mookster

That's what the rumour was, but doesn't seem to be much action going on.


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## steve2109

Nice Images, hope they don't come down soon, they are on my list for a drone flight


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## druid

Some great images but especially like the brutalist look of #9 (3902)


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## Judderman62

Yeah I'd read they were coming down this month.


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## HughieD

Cheers folks. Searched on the net and no references to their impending demolition. Certainly no tell-tale signs of demo on site


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## flyboys90

Awesome structures!!Great write up and belting images.


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## steve2109

HughieD said:


> Cheers folks. Searched on the net and no references to their impending demolition. Certainly no tell-tale signs of demo on site



Awesome, can feel a drone flight coming on Saturday ! should be able to fly straight up the towers !


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## Mikeymutt

Nice set of these hughie..really enjoyed them.shame they won't be there much longer


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## HughieD

flyboys90 said:


> Awesome structures!!Great write up and belting images.


#

Cheers mate!



steve2109 said:


> Awesome, can feel a drone flight coming on Saturday ! should be able to fly straight up the towers !



Get that drone up the inside of them towers!



Mikeymutt said:


> Nice set of these hughie..really enjoyed them.shame they won't be there much longer



Cheers Mikey...still can't find any info on them coming down anywhere...


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## HughieD

A quick video from the inside...


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## steve2109

HughieD said:


> #
> 
> Cheers mate!
> 
> 
> 
> Get that drone up the inside of them towers!
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers Mikey...still can't find any info on them coming down anywhere...



going to film them on Saturday weather permitting


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## HughieD

steve2109 said:


> going to film them on Saturday weather permitting


Looking forward to seeing the results*

* weather permitting


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## scribe

Very impressive structures and great shots.


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## ironsky

I see you made it to the five brothers. The plans for the site is a replacement power station and the demolition of the cooling towers. The proposed date is March.


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## The Wombat

I've visited a few times, and they are still mindblowing every time
Excellent work Hughie, you've got some good shots

Hope they don't demolish these soon


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## degenerate

Reet do Hughie, belting picures


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## URBANMYTH

Great report. And nice to see some history as its often overlooked on site like this.


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## steve2109

Easter weekend it is to film these then !


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## HughieD

degenerate said:


> Reet do Hughie, belting picures





URBANMYTH said:


> Great report. And nice to see some history as its often overlooked on site like this.





steve2109 said:


> Easter weekend it is to film these then !



Cheers guys!


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## HughieD

Cheers Mr Wombat. Should be listed rather than demolished eh?


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## ReverendJT

I had a wander around these on the way back from an Easter break with the Mrs. Great little site and easy peasy access (if she can get in, anyone can!). Well worth the detour if you are passing just to experience the echo when standing inside the towers if nothing else. Great report.


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## Gramm

Great to see these towers in all their glory, i used to work as a recommissioning engineer for National Grid many moons ago, The wooden beams that supported the elements called film were manufactured from a hardwood timber from Cameroon, and the films looked like huge egg cartons , that were glued together using Cyano crylic (super glue)\into blocks about six feet long by two feet square, Stacked ten feet deep onto the hardwood frames laid across the existing concrete beams, Sorry for the rant 
Thanks for the images


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## Lone Wanderer

Awesome report! I feel tiny just looking at the photos, can't imagine how it felt being stood next to them


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## Paddler

***WIllington cooling towers demo confirmed***

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c1Fq5ikNrM

and here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwn9VCuvkwc

Residents of Willington received a letter from Calon who bought the site from RWE. Planning permission approved in June 2016 for a gas powered power station so no need for the towers.

September 1st 2016 they are coming down. 100% confirmed with the contracts manager at Calon.


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## HughieD

Bugger...revisit on the cards!


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## HughieD

Found the letter about the purchase by Cslon here but no mention of demo date...

http://www.willingtonpc.org.uk/uploads/letter-to-residents-re-power-station.pdf


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## Paddler

The letter us residents of Willington received was from 5 weeks ago if you look at the date.

I was taking a few snaps, saw some hi vis types and asked them what they were up to. They said they were doing a survey on weed killers that have been used on the site over the years and if I want any more information to go see the Calon contracts manager at the live sub station next door. He came to the gate and told me about the 1st September, showed me some draught plans that were drawn up since the letter went out to the locals. He was such a nice guy and to keep him onside I've gone with his request not to put any videos online of us chatting. He said the press releases will go out soon once they have done all the liason work with the local authorities for road closures etc.

I'll update here in due course in the meantime here's some very good history on the site The Willington Web Site - Power Station history


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## Paddler

video from this evening


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## mockingbird

These are always impressive no matter how many times you see pictures, nothing compares to the grand scale of them, excellent job!


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## Inky38

Flew around the cooling towers with my drone over the weekend


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