Long Eaton residents have been told to brace themselves for 'several explosions' over the weekend when a historic chimney is demolished to help make way for new homes.
Up until 2009, the site, which is bordered on one side by the Erewash Canal, was home to a number of mills buildings. They included the Britannia and Portland Mills, which were built in the early 1900s.
But a major fire, which started in a property formerly occupied by the mattress manufacturer Elson and Robbins, gutted many of the buildings on the site and almost all of them were demolished.
Today, the only remnant of those mill buildings is the chimney, which has been used for the stationing of telecommunications equipment, along with some of the factory walls, which act as a boundary for the site.
However, the chimney will be flattened over the weekend so the site can be redeveloped - and people living in the area have been warned.
Speaking ahead of the start of the project, Melvyn Cross Junior, joint owner of the Hucknall-based Total Reclaims Demolition, said: “The technical term for the process is a ‘blow down’.
"We will start by preparing the site around the base of the chimney, clearing any obstructions, and then on Thursday or Friday we will ‘pre-weaken’ the structure by removing a wedge from the base, which will give the direction of fall.
"This will be followed by us drilling pre-determined holes for the explosives.
“On Sunday morning (June 28) it will be charged, wrapped with material to keep the charge in place and then, at 9am - Kaboom.
"We wanted to warn residents not to be alarmed if they hear a big bang.
"It could well be heard over a great distance.
"And, although letters have been sent out to the immediate vicinity, we don’t want to cause any panic.
“There will be several explosions all happening in quick succession, so only one will be heard - and the blast could be heard for a three-mile radius.”
Roads around Bennett Street are expected to be closed for an hour on Sunday as the work goes ahead.
In the days after the demolition, the team will salvage and reclaim the waste bricks.
Total Reclaims Demolition will carry out the work on behalf of Woodsome Estates Ltd.
Erewash Borough Council gave the demolition work the green light back in April.
Developers have also submitted detailed plans to the authority to build 109 homes at the site.
This application is under discussion and a decision is expected by the end of July, the council confirmed.
Conservative MP for Erewash, Maggie Throup, said she was 'bitterly disappointed' at the loss of the historic chimney.
She said:“ It is with a great sadness that Sunday will see the final act of demolition at the former Britannia and Portland mills site.
“Whilst I am bitterly disappointed that we are losing yet another piece of our industrial past, the permission whether or not to demolish the chimney lay solely in the hands of the planning authority, Erewash Borough Council.
“Whilst much of the original mills was lost to a fire several years ago, the chimney has remained standing as an iconic reminder of our town’s past, with its history rooted in the manufacturing of Nottingham lace.
“Long Eaton may be losing a piece of its past this weekend but my hope is that, together with projects such as the £25million Towns Fund, the new homes earmarked for this site will play a key role in the regeneration of our town for future generations.”
