Sinter Chimney to be Brought Down by Ex Plant Worker

Another piece of the former Redcar steelworks is to be brought down in an explosive demolition on Thursday (10 November).

And pushing the button will be a former plant worker who helped put it up. Mark Colley, from Marske, will trigger the demolition of the Redcar Sinter Plant main stack at 7pm.

Mark, 59, first began working on the wider Redcar steelworks aged 15. The mechanical engineer worked at the Sinter Plant from 1986 to 2010 – and was one of those who helped erect the chimney in the 1990s.

The 105-metre-high concrete tower has not been in use since late 2015. The bulk of the Sinter plant was brought down in August – including the Screenhouse and strand parts of the facility. The initial phase of the demolition was carried out in June to bring down the Bunker Bay.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “The fall of the Sinter chimney stack is yet another major change to the Teesworks landscape as we continue our accelerated demolition programme.

“Net Zero Teesside Power is due to sit directly next to the land that the Sinter Plant previously occupied, bringing with it up to 5,500 jobs for generations to come.

“This world-first £1.5billion project, led by BP, will help drive forward the UK’s first decarbonised industrial cluster on the site, capturing up to two million tonnes of CO2 from the power plant alone and storing it under the North Sea.

“From the ashes of the past, we’re creating an exciting green future for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

Preparatory work has found little to no dust on the inside of the tower – and the bottom of the structure will continue to be saturated with water to minimise any dust created. An evening demolition time has been earmarked to reduce impact upon residents – with a siren to sound shortly before the demolition takes place.

• The demolition is due to take place at 7pm.