Why you might hear explosions in Hartlepool as work goes ahead on Sinter Plant demolition

The controlled demolition will take place on Thursday 11 August at 7pm, after which only the chimney will remain.

The levelling of this site will create investor-ready land for the Net Zero Teesside Project, a £1.5billion investment led by BP for the world’s first gas-fired

power plant with carbon capture and storage facilities to prevent CO2 escaping into the atmosphere.

Earlier this year, Bunker Bay and the Screenhouse at the Sinter Plant were demolished using 100kg of explosives.

A number of other structures in the area have already been levelled, including the Stock Houses, Flux Bunker and Ore Bunker.

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, said: “In some ways it’s bittersweet. These structures are some of the reminders of long-lasting careers in iron and steel

that were taken on by thousands of people in the local community.

"But, as with all of the process, we’ve been capturing the transformation so the next generations can learn what the site meant to us, and the importance of

what it’s becoming.

“Now it’s time to look to the future and move forward."

Around 5,500 jobs will be created in the construction phase alone.

Ben later added: “Elsewhere, work is continuing on SeAH Wind’s mammoth £400million offshore wind monopile facility, and more demolitions in the coming months will pave the way for ground-breaking schemes like Circular Fuels’ waste to renewable gas plant.”

Plans for the chimney’s demolition are expected later in the year.