Architect's call to save 'symbolic' cooling towers

Cooling towers which are facing demolition are an "icon of post-war power generation" and alternatives should be considered for their future, a lecturer in architecture has said.

Professor Richard Brook said it was a "travesty" that the remaining four water cooling towers at Fiddler's Ferry would be removed from the skyline.

He said local people "fondly" called them "the cloud factory" because of the steam which used to come out of the top.

The Lancaster University lecturer added that as there were fewer cooling towers remaining across the country, "their heritage value becomes more important".

He said he would like to see the towers become part of an ecological and industrial park where people would be "invited to be in and amongst the structures".

Fiddler's Ferry dominated the Cheshire skyline after it became fully operational in 1973.

The station's closure in 2020 was part of government plans to end coal-fired electricity generation by 2025 and four of the eight cooling towers were demolished in December 2023.

Peel Natural Resources and Energy (NRE) acquired the Fiddler's Ferry site in 2021 and plans to develop the site for new homes and employment use.

Professor Brook told BBC North West Tonight: "Obviously, it's right that we are bringing coal fire power stations to the end of their life to do with carbon reduction and climate change, but equally we should think about what these towers symbolise.

"Lots of them have already been demolished across the country,"

"As less and less remain standing, the question of their heritage value becomes more important.

"I'm not the only person who has an association or a memory attached to these places."

A date for the demolition of the remaining four cooling towers is yet to be set.

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