Specialist Brown & Mason oversaw the controlled collapse which removed the last major component of Rugeley B Power Station following its closure in 2016.

Site owner and regeneration specialist Engie will now progress with plans to redevelop the site into a low-carbon mixed use community.

Outline planning permission was granted in April for a mixed-use development of 2,300 new low carbon homes with a low-carbon all through school.

The wider Rugeley masterplan also includes more than 12 acres of employment space, a new neighbourhood centre and a country park alongside the River Trent – providing access to a section of riverside which has been inaccessible for decades.

Colin Macpherson, Divisional CEO for ENGIE UK & Ireland, said: “This is a really meaningful example of building back greener and better in the wake of the Covid pandemic and we are lucky to have had the backing and support of Cannock Chase District Council, Lichfield District Council and Staffordshire County Council to bring this to fruition.

“We hope this regeneration could become a blueprint for other UK former carbon intensive industrial centres to create positive outcomes for their communities compatible with a net-zero future.”