After three years of extensive community engagement and planning, ENGIE is now taking next steps by commencing site remediation to progress the plans to transform the former coal-fired power station site into a sustainable and innovative, mixed-use neighbourhood, including 2,300 new low carbon homes, a low carbon Academy school, 5 hectares of employment space and a new 25 hectare country park alongside the River Trent.

In December 2018, over 400 people took part in the Rugeley Power Station Community Planning Weekend process, sharing local knowledge and co-designing a vision for the future of this strategic site which has an important relationship with Rugeley town. The community engagement continued through a series of forums and exhibitions as the masterplan for the site evolved.

With outline planning now confirmed, ENGIE will be able to make progress with infrastructure and remediation work. The four cooling towers at the power station are due to be demolished on 6 June 2021 – a key milestone in the redevelopment – and the remediation work is projected to complete in the winter of 2022. The project will advance in phases, with initial work commencing to the north of the site, where the coal yards were once sited.

This is an exciting development for Rugeley, Staffordshire and the region and a great example of how the private sector is working with local government and the wider community to help achieve a lower carbon future.

“We’re delighted that this important milestone has been reached, it feels like we’re turning a page in the next chapter of Rugeley Power Station’s long history. The design process has been, and continues to be, an example of genuinely collaborative placemaking, and we are proud to be involved.”