Hartlepool residents warned to expect 'the biggest demolition yet' at former steelworks

Teesworks’ mammoth Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) plant at Redcar will be entirely brought down by explosive demolition this weekend.

The activity is considered to be one of the largest single explosive demolition operation in the UK in the past 75 years with around 1.6 tonnes of explosives used to level the 200ft-high building.

To prepare the parcel of land for the blowdown, a £25million project has been carried out over the past 12 months to pull down a series of large industrial shed buildings and seven tall chimney stacks that made up part of the 30-acre site.

Major plant items and equipment have also been stripped out from the facility to prepare it for demolition.

While the building is largely hidden from Hartlepool’s view across the River Tees, the sound of the explosions are still expected to be heard here.

The demolition will take place between 8am and noon on Saturday, October 1, with three blasts over a seven-second period bringing the 60,000-tonne structure down.

Teesworks is the United Kingdom largest freeport and has been set up to converting assets into opportunities for business investment and economic growth.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “We’ve already brought down a lot of massive iron and steelmaking structures that remained on the Teesworks site but this is going to be the biggest demolition yet.”

He added: “We’re unlocking yet more land and making the site an even more attractive prospect for all of the international investors we’re working to bring to Teesworks.”