Windsor Street Gasholders

Before we dismantle the gasholders, we’ll need to remove any water, oil and sludge from inside them. When we’re removing the water, there may be some noise from the generators used to power the pumping equipment. We’ll try to keep this noise to a minimum.

You may also notice a gas/diesel-like smell when we remove the sludge and other debris from the bottom of the gasholders. This will be temporary and is not harmful to people, animals or the environment. However, if you are concerned about a gas smell, please contact the national gas emergency service on freephone 0800 111 999. A gas engineer will need to check if there is a gas leak unrelated to our work on the gas holders.

Once we have emptied the below ground tanks, we will carefully dismantle the gasholder frames. This will involve cutting the steel structure using a range of machinery including cranes. The site will be closely monitored and we will take action to reduce any smells, noise, vibration or dust.

Our working hours will be 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday with some weekend working if required.

We’re an approved Client Partner of the Considerate Constructors Scheme. This means our work at Windsor Street will be registered with the scheme and meet its Code of Considerate Practice requirements.

Throughout the duration of the works we remain committed to working with our specialist contractor, DSM, to:

• Demonstrate and promote the highest standards of considerate construction with our on-site activities.
• Undertake work in a way that is considerate of the general public, the workforce and the environment.
• Act as ambassadors for the construction industry, promoting the Scheme and its aims, and will look to promote a positive image of construction at all times.

Find out more information about the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

We recognise that gasholders are a part of our industrial heritage and undertake historical recording at all our gasholder sites, including Windsor Street. The current Windsor Street site has been associated with the gas industry since the 1880s when it was acquired by the Birmingham Corporation to enable the extension of the Windsor Street Gasworks. The gasworks once housed 11 gasholders and when the twin gasholders were built in 1885, they were the largest in the world. By 1928 the gasworks had become the largest gasworks owned by the Birmingham Corporation, occupying an area of 26 acres, and it remained in operation until the late 1980s.

As the Windsor Street gasholders are the last in Birmingham, we have commissioned Professor Russell Thomas to produce a booklet on the history of the gas industry in Birmingham.

A history of the gas industry in Birmingham

We have also worked with him to produce a booklet specifically about the Windsor Street site.

Windsor Street Gasworks

Birmingham Heritage Week

Birmingham Heritage Week is an 11 day city-wide festival that celebrates Birmingham’s rich and diverse heritage. National Grid were proud to offer two events.

We provided tours of the gasholder site, allowing people a unique opportunity to get up close to the holders. You can see what they thought here:

As part of Birmingham Heritage Week, Professor Russell Thomas also delivered an online lecture on the history of the Windsor Street site. You can watch it again here:

Heritage is not just about buildings and infrastructure, it is about people. The gas industry has played a huge role in generations of families’ lives and still does today. This social history is important to pass on to future generations and our Capturing Stories project aims to do just this. 

Capturing Stories is National Grid’s commitment to seek out and record the lived experience of the gas industry. These digital recordings will be used to supplement our growing archive of physical and technical heritage information. 

The recordings are of stories locked away in the memories of those who worked on former gas manufacturing sites, gas industry employees and of people who remember their local gasworks being operational.  

These stories are recorded in the form of podcasts and videos and you can explore them at capturing stories. 

The Windsor Street gasholders were painted in the club colours of Aston Villa in the 1990s.

The links with the club remain strong today and we have plans to work together on a joint heritage project. 

As the final gasholders in Birmingham are dismantled, we commissioned local historical education specialists Mrs History to work with two local primary schools close to the site. Groups of children from St Matthew’s C of E and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary Schools went on a local history walk followed by classroom workshops. You can watch a short film about the project here:

We have a wide range of educational resources relating to the gas industry available on our education resources webpage.