Transforming a former coal-fired power station into an innovative mixed-use neighbourhood

Located on the edge of Rugeley town centre in Staffordshire, Rugeley Power Station is a 139-hectare former power station site which, prior to demolition works in 2021, comprised a series of coal-fired power stations, a gas turbine generator, vast cooling towers and chimneys.

The site will be transformed into a sustainable and innovative, mixed-use neighbourhood, which includes 2,300 new low-carbon homes, a low-carbon Academy school, 5 hectares of employment space and a new country park alongside the River Trent – creating enhanced areas of biodiversity and wildflower meadows.

The masterplan has been significantly shaped by the integration of the green and blue infrastructure with the retention and enhancement of the existing habitat. Networks of open space, landscape, planting, natural habitat, and water bodies and channels offer enhanced areas for biodiversity.

Running through the eastern edge of the site, ‘The Rail Way’, which follows part of the former railway spur and acts as a green spine and a sustainable movement corridor, providing a 2.8km-long safe, multi-modal route to the town centre. It will interconnect with all the open green spaces helping promote active and healthy lifestyles and reduce reliance on private cars. A new 25-hectare public Riverside Park along the River Trent will open up previously inaccessible land to provide for riverside recreation activities.

A variety of housing densities and a mix of dwelling types and tenures – ranging from apartments to detached houses and homes for the elderly – were proposed to attract a range of residents and support a diverse, inclusive new community. A new neighbourhood centre will meet the everyday needs of the people living and working there, as well as serving neighbouring existing communities.

Key to ensuring the vision and proposals for the town met the needs of the community was a process of extensive community engagement. This was made more complex given that the site straddles both Cannock Chase District Council and Lichfield District Council. 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 and its important relationship with Rugeley town. The community engagement continued through a series of forums and exhibitions as the masterplan for the site evolved.

After years of extensive community engagement and planning, demolition and site remediation are now well advanced. Meanwhile the plans to transform the former coal-fired power station site into a sustainable and innovative, mixed-use neighbourhood are being carefully shaped through the preparation of Design Codes.