Gas Holder Demolition

GAS HOLDER HISTORY

There were a large number of gas holders built in towns, cities and industrial areas across the UK starting in the Victorian era. The discovery of natural gas in 1965 led to a change in the way gas was sourced and stored making gas holders obsolete over time.

The obsolescence of gas holders as part of the UK’s energy infrastructure meant that the country’s network of gas holders have been demolished in large numbers since the turn of the millennium.

Since 2013 the vast majority of gas holders have been demolished, with just a small number remaining across the country.

GAS HOLDER DEMOLITION CHALLENGES

Whilst there are a limited number of gas holders left in the United Kingdom they are a good example of the constraints and engineering challenges that we can provide demolition engineering support.

Due to the nature of their operation in fuelling urban environments there are often site constraints and engineering challenges to consider.

These have included

• Proximity to high pressure gas lines
• Proximity to live rail environments
• Latent defects

On one of the gas holder projects one of the potential latent defects was the structural damage that may have been caused by an unexploded WWII bomb.