Redcar Blast Furnace - Demolition Day
The iconic structure will be brought down, forever changing Teesside.
Last updated 23rd Nov 2022
An explosive demolition scheduled for 9am today (Wednesday, 23 November) is to bring down the Casting Houses, the Dust Catcher, Charge Conveyors, and the Blast Furnace at the Redcar Blast Furnace.
More can now be revealed on how the demolition will unfold.
The structures to come down are set to fall, roughly, in a westerly direction – away from the coast. The demolition itself is expected to take between five and ten seconds.
Thompsons of Prudhoe have spent months preparing and cleaning the site. The four enormous gas stoves which heated the furnace are set to be demolished separately in the next month.
A 250-metre exclusion zone is in place for the demolition. Access along Gare Road will be closed for the demolition from 8am until after the demolition.
Roughly five to six minutes before the demolition, a single air horn will sound for 10 seconds.
Another horn will also sound 20 seconds before the demolition takes place.
The demolition will mark an important change in the Teesside skyline – and the Blast Furnace will be visible from the beach, but please observe it from a safe distance.
Every effort has been made to reduce the impact of dust – with a thorough programme of cleaning undertaken by contractors for months. A dust mitigation plan has also been shared with the Environment Agency and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.
There will also be mitigation measures with water foggers and hoses. However, naturally, from a blowdown of this size and type, there will be dust created by the demolition.
While the prevailing wind tends to blow Westerly/South Westerly, the forecast is for a low-pressure system to move in towards the west of the UK overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. This will likely see the wind blow from S/SE to N/NE on the morning of the demolition.
The public are urged to be aware of the wind direction on the day – and of dust blowing over South Gare following the demolition. Staff will be patrolling the area and the beach to make the public aware of the exclusion zone – and to advise them regarding any dust on the day.
The demolition exclusion zone will remain in place for at least 30 minutes after the blowdown.
Dominating the Teesside skyline for more than four decades, the blast furnace was ranked the second largest of its kind in Europe. Standing 365ft tall, the Redcar Blast Furnace was Commissioned in 1979 and produced 3.6million tonnes of iron a year.
Jacob Young, MP for Redcar, said: “This demolition will bring about mixed feelings for many Teessiders - and I’ll be among their number on the day. The hard work of the Heritage Taskforce will ensure the memory of the Blast Furnace and our proud steelmaking history will be documented and recognised for generations to come.
“Progress on Teesworks is continuing apace and, while there will be a lot of sadness when the skyline changes, we have huge projects such as Net Zero Teesside which will offer a cleaner, brighter and more prosperous industrial future for us all.”
Cllr Mary Lanigan, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet Member, said: “The steelworks has played an integral part in the lives of so many people in Redcar and Cleveland over the generations and coming from a steel-working family myself, I know many will view this as a sad day for our borough. The structure has been part of the landscape for decades and it will be strange not to see it on the horizon.
“However, we now must provide real and attractive opportunities for our residents to find employment in industries which will grow in the future. We hope that the development of Teesworks attracts reputable companies from across the world to provide secure and well-paid jobs for future generations.”