Sadness and hope for future as 'iconic' futuristic control building at former Fawley Power Station demolished

IT was another end-of-an-era moment at the former Fawley power station site as demolition got under way on its last remaining landmark feature.

Bulldozers moved in last week as contractors Brown and Mason set to work on the distinctive roundhouse-style control room in preparation for the £800m Fawley Waterside housing development.

It comes 18 months after the historic 650ft chimney was brought down on 31st October 2021.

The old power station, including the futuristic control room, has starred in film and TV, including Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Red Dwarf.

Covering 300 acres, the power station was built between 1964 and 1971. It shut down in 2013 and demolition started three years later.

Councillors expressed sadness at the loss of the control building which, along with the chimney, had been hoped to be preserved.

But they were also hopeful the planned new 1,500-home town, with offices, shops and restaurants, will bring its own new landmarks.

Promised to bring 4,000 new jobs, the project is set to carried out over the next two decades.

Fawley district councillor Alexis McEvoy described both the chimney and control room as “iconic”.

But she added: “I’ve seen plans and, providing the developers don’t attempt to change them, this will not be an unattractive new town.

“There will hopefully be new landmarks – not to replace those lost, but that will become iconic in their own right.

“We just have to keep an eye on it and put their feet to the fire to ensure people are not disappointed by any changes to the development.”

Acknowledging “things move on”, fellow local district councillor and parish council chair, Cllr Alan Alvey, was optimistic the new town would bring further opportunities, including filming locations.

“[The control room building] has been a feature of that power station – quite an imposing feature – for many, many years. It is sad to see it go,” Cllr Alvey said.

“But, once completed, I think it will be a wonderful landmark development on the estuary and would hope it will feature in future shows.”

A spokesperson for developer Fawley Waterside Ltd explained the building, which housed control room equipment, offices and meeting room facilities, was emptied in 2022 for this year’s demolition.

“This month [Brown and Mason] began to demolish the external structure,” the spokesperson said: “They expect the building to be completely gone by May this year.

“The canteen building that sits alongside has been removed from the demolition contract and will be kept and utilised as future offices for the Fawley Waterside project.”

They added the power station was due to be fully demolished by the end of July.