A major landmark on the east Kent coastline is set to disappear, after Thanet District Councils Planning Committee gave the go-ahead to demolish the cooling towers at Richborough.

The proposals that were considered by the committee are to demolish the three cooling towers and chimney at the redundant Richborough power station, which closed in 1996.

The application is accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment, which looks at the impact of the demolition on the environment. It considers issues such as ecology, air quality and dust, noise and vibration and how the waste from the demolition will be removed from the site.

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The 97 metre high cooling towers are within Thanet's boundary, while the site entrance is in Dover’s boundary. As a result, the planning application was submitted to both authorities, with Dover focusing on issues to do with the access.

The committee approved the demolition work with a number of conditions. These include having to carry out an assessment of the wildlife on site and restrictions on when the demolition can take place. After hearing from a representative of UK Power Network, who are responsible for providing electricity to Thanet residents, members also added two extra conditions which sought to reduce the risk to Thanet's electricity supply.

(CD/GK)