Planners to visit Rugeley Power Station ahead of decision on masterplan

Cannock Chase Council's planning committee was set to meet today to discuss the masterplan for the site, and councillors were expected to agree to make a visit in the coming weeks.

It comes after an outline planning application for the homes, up to 1.2 ha of mixed-use buildings, five ha of employment land, a primary school, open space and key infrastructure has been submitted to Cannock Chase Council and Lichfield District Council.

In a report going to the meeting it says: "The site is approximately 139Ha and was a coal powered power station that provided electricity for transmission to the National Grid.

"Historically the power station was one of the main employers in Rugeley, however employment within the site ceased 2016 following closure of the power station.

"Much of the infrastructure associated with the sites previous use remains in situ.

"This includes a rail connection, four cooling towers, a chimney stack, plant buildings and pumping facilities, an electricity substation and switching stations.

"Following the closure of Rugeley Power Station in 2016, works to progress decommissioning and demolition of all buildings on the site were consented.

"In conjunction with the consideration of the site redevelopment application currently being considered by the council, the applicants have offered to permit access to members of the planning control committee to visit the site.

"It is hoped this will allow for further understanding of the scale of the site, the areas affected and the constraints the development faces."

Plans were announced for a mixed-use development at the end of last year - transforming the site into an entirely new sustainable and smart community.

Rugeley A power station opened in 1961 while Rugeley B power station, which provided enough electricity to power around half a million homes, followed nine years later.

There were plans to convert the power station to run on biomass fuel in 2012 but they were never carried out.

The station eventually closed in June 2016 when 120 jobs were lost.

The first stages of the demolition of the former power station have taken place, while the other main structures, including boiler house, chimney and cooling towers are scheduled for controlled collapse through the remainder of 2019 and 2020 and the complete demolition of the site is expected in 2021.

If the outline plans are approved, a reserved matters application with the finer details will have to be given the green light at a later date.

The plans say that construction is estimated to begin next year and to carry on until 2040.