?

?

Monday 2 December 2013

Huncoat Power Station

On the outskirts of Accrington in Lancashire lies a small village which is home to a now derelict power station.  In the years that following World War Two the newly nationalised electricity board chose this village as the location for a new unit. Huncoat Power Station was  opened on 11 May 1956 by the Mayor.

 In 1984 after only three decades of production, the power station itself closed. The cooling towers were demolished in 1988, and nearly all the rest of the buildings were demolished in 1990. It’s not clear why the remaining buildings were left.

 In 2004 controversy surrounded Lancashire County Council’s proposal to build a waste management facility on the site. The plans were approved in May 2006 in spite of many local objections. The owner appealed against the compulsory purchase however, and the land remains desolate and unused.

The remaining building is just a "shell", with all doors and windows gaping holes, open to the elements. Anything that could be stolen has been, and although we had no problems with the flooring, we had been warned to be careful for holes. The glass and debris left discarded on the floor is plentiful.

One of the main draws to exploring this place is the abundant graffiti, some of which is outstanding. I had visited the site before, about a year earlier, on a particularly bleak winter's day. However, this visit was on a crisp, sunny winter's morning, providing good light for photography.

 
Stepping inside the main space, I looked up to see a man pointing a gun at me, from the first floor! Turns out he was just doing a spot of "target practice" and was quite harmless and friendly! After the initial shock of facing a gun, I calmed down enough to have a good explore.

Finding a reasonably safe staircase, we ventured upstairs.
 

View of the main space from the first floor.


We found another set of concrete stairs that led up to the next floor . . .

Yet more graffiti and the flat roof top . . .







Surviving the roof-top experience, we went down to the back of the building.

 
Some interesting "retro" graffiti with Tony the Tiger . . .


I didn't fancy the facilities much!


 
I have a fascination with the layers of paint that flake off, revealing other layers and like to get some up-close shots.
 


 
Anyway, back to the graffiti . . .
 
 
 



 
 
 
 



 
 

And that was that - everything explored, we survived the man with the gun, the asbestos and the dodgy flooring. I like the fact that you see something different on each visit. I will be back!!

3 comments:

  1. Even spotted myself on one of the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bob on that - but not sure about the gun bit

    ReplyDelete