The blowdown took just seconds but was the culmination of months of extensive planning to ensure safety standards were upheld and hazardous materials were removed before the blowdown.

Demolition debris will be processed and recycled on site for future development.

Developer Peel NRE now owns the site and has lodged a planning application with Warrington Council to redevelop part of the wider 820-acre site into 1.4m sq ft of logistics space across a quartet of buildings.

The first phase will involve four industrial buildings and service yards totalling 1.4m sq ft of floorspace, supporting around 500 construction jobs a year during the build phase.

Later phases of the project will include a new neighbourhood to the east of the former power station that could include 1,760 family homes supported by space for a new primary school, shops and a GP surgery.