Top Gear's visit to a historic power station near Retford saw the presenters 'breaking the on-site speed limits', it has emerged. Coal-fired power station West Burton A sits on the Lincolnshire boarder.
Much has been done to commemorate its legacy as it nears the end of its life. Decommissioning manager Nigel Wallis spoke of the mixture of optimism and melancholy ahead of West Burton A going 'cold and dark' in March.
Lincolnshire Live reports residents, however, are thrilled by the prospect of the site hosting 'revolutionary' new nuclear technology. The site will become home to the STEP reactor, the UK's first commercial fusion reactor.
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It comes after the power station was awarded the project in September. But the station, a staple of the Midlands' 'Megawatt Valley', will always be remembered by some for its appearance on the hit BBC motoring show Top Gear.
The yard is now silent, with fewer and fewer trains coming by to drop off coal to be used by the plant for energy production. On a busy day, there would have been around 20 trains coming through and it would be hard to hear yourself think, Mr Wallis said.
That silence was broken back in December 2021, when the gang from Top Gear visited the dwindling coal yard to make the most out of what Mr Wallis called 'probably a pretty good spot for a race track'. West Burton A has been captured on film plenty of times during its long history, from when the foundations were laid in 1961 and no doubt again when the cooling towers come down in 2027.
During the episode, broadcast in June, presenter Freddie Flintoff jumped off a makeshift ramp while drivers Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris spun doughnuts in the yard. Katy Jarvis-Morgan, a spokesperson for EDF, said the team had been by several times before to do some 'reccies' and ensure it was safe.
All roads were shut on the day and barriers were put up for everyone's protection, with deliveries to the site cancelled to keep the number of vehicles at the station low. The production crew captured a lot of footage using two drones, with much being used in the episode.
Ms Jarvis-Morgan said that, at the end of the day, they were just happy that nothing got out of hand. She said: "But it's safe to say that they did break our on-site speed limits."
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