VIDEO: Explosion marks further demolition of Fawley power station

A HUGE explosion sounded the latest stage of the demolition of Fawley power station ahead of plans for 1,500 homes.

The detonation at about 10am yesterday (Thursday) was the third in an ongoing series of operations to clear the site

The latest part to be taken down was the northern section of the boiler house.

It was demolished following an exclusion zone being thrown up around the area from 9am, patrolled by sentries and the police.

A spokesperson Fawley Waterside Ltd, the company behind the development said: "All relevant stakeholders, landowners, tenants and residents in close proximity to the site were notified in advance of the event."

The first demolition was in October 2019 when the the turbine hall roof and deaerator building were taken down.

The second occurred in November 2020 with the destruction of the southern section of the boiler house.

Full demolition of the power station site is estimated to be complete in 2022.

The location is famous for starring as the backdrop in blockbuster films Solo: A Star Wars Story and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

The power station was commissioned in 1971 and ceased operations in 2013. It was bought for £30m in 2015 by Fawley Waterside Ltd, a consortium led by local landowner Aldred Drummond.

The company contracted to carry out the work is Brown and Mason, which was appointed as principal demolition contractor in 2016.

The process was approved in May 2019 by New Forest District Council including the dismantling, removal and site clearance of buildings.

The application included a series of explosive events over a two-year period.