20 Oct 2015

• National Grid is inviting people to share their memories of the gas works
• Dismantling will help pave the way for new development, outlined in St Edmundsbury Borough Council's strategy for growth

A disused gas holder site in Bury St Edmunds could be set for a new lease of life

National Grid is planning to dismantle the gas holder and a small associated building at Tayfen Road, so the land can be cleared and made available for use as part of the local development plan.

The dismantling is set to start this week, on Monday 19 October, and is expected to be complete by April 2016. Once prepared and ready for dismantling, National Grid will remove the gas holder shell using cutting equipment and carefully lower it to the ground. The metal gas holder shell will then be taken to a facility for recycling.

The gas holder is no longer in use and therefore needs to be taken down. Clearing the site will provide the opportunity to put the land to better use. Planning applications for future development on this site and neighbouring sites are separate to this gas holder dismantling work.

Sam Rendell, National Grid said: 'The gas holder at Tayfen Road has been a significant part of Bury St Edmunds, providing the town with gas for decades but improvements in the way we store gas mean that it isn't needed anymore. By clearing the site we hope it can be made useful once more and play a part in future growth and regeneration.

'Despite this, preserving gas heritage is very important to us. We are looking at ways to keep alive the memory of the gasholder and the industrial history it represents. We would like to ask people to get in touch with us to share their memories of the gas works and ensure the heritage of Bury St Edmunds gas works lives on.'

The work is part of National Grid's nationwide programme to regenerate brownfield sites so that they can have a useful future.

Bury St Edmunds has a long history of gas since the development of the first gas works at Tayfen Road in the 1800s. The gas holder has been a recognised landmark and played a key role in providing gas to local residents and businesses. As gas can now be stored within the pipeline network itself, the gas holder at Tayfen Road is no longer needed.

National Grid is looking at ways that the history of the site can be celebrated and is inviting people that have been connected with the gas works to contact them with their memories or photos.

Community Relations Team: 0800 840 2750.

Email: [email protected]