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Lynemouth power station

Coordinates:55°12′15″N1°31′15″W/ 55.20417°N 1.52083°W/55.20417; -1.52083
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Lynemouth power station
Lynemouth Power Station fromCresswell
Map
Official nameLynemouth Power Station
CountryEngland
LocationLynemouth, Northumberland
Coordinates55°12′15″N1°31′15″W/ 55.20417°N 1.52083°W/55.20417; -1.52083
StatusOperational
Construction began1968
Commission date1972
Owner(s)Rio Tinto Alcan
(1972–2013)
RWE npower
(2013–2016)
EPH
(2016–present)[1]
Operator(s)EP UK Investments
Thermal power station
Primary fuelBiomass
Power generation
Units operationalThree 140 MW Parsons
Nameplate capacity420 MW
External links
Websitehttps://www.epuki.co.uk/
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Lynemouth Power Stationis abiomasspower plant which provides electricity for the UKNational Grid.Until March 2012, it was the main source of electricity for the nearbyAlcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter.It is located on thecoastofNorthumberland,north east of the town ofAshingtonin north east England. The station has stood as a landmark on the Northumberland coast since it opened in 1972, and had been privately owned by aluminium companyRio Tinto Alcanthroughout its operation until December 2013, whenRWE npowertook over.[2]In January 2016 it was acquired by the Czech companyEnergetický a průmyslový holding.[1]

The station was one of the most recently builtcoal-fired power stationsin the United Kingdom, but with a generating capacity of only 420megawatts(MW), was one of the smallest.[3][4]

In 2011, it was announced that the power station may be converted to burn biomass only, in a bid to avoid government legislation. In January 2016 the station was purchased by Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH). The station converted to biomass in 2018, ending its use of coal. Two separatewind farmplants currently have permission to be built near the station, one for a 13turbinewind farm near the smelter and another three turbine wind farm to the north of the station. In 2009, Alcan announced that they hope to fit the station withcarbon capture and storagetechnology.[5]

History

[edit]

In 1968,Alcanhad applied for planning permission for the construction of a newaluminium smelterin Northumberland atLynemouth.[6][7]Later that year, Alcan was granted the permission and site preparation would soon begin.[8]However, to meet the electric demand of the new smelter, a power station would also be needed to be a built.[6]Therefore, Lynemouth Power Station was constructed only 800 m (2,600 ft) from the aluminium smelter.[9]

The smelter and power station were constructed in southeast Northumberland to lower high unemployment numbers.[10]The site was chosen because of the nearbyEllingtonand Lynemouthcollieries.Ellington Colliery was sunk in 1909 and Lynemouth Colliery in 1927. In 1968 the two collieries were connected underground by the Bewick Drift, from which coal was brought to the surface. The Drift had no rail connection, and so coal was sent to the washery at Lynemouth byconveyor belt.[11]The power station was constructed at the end of the conveyor belt.

Both buildings were designed by architectsYorke Rosenberg Mardall,with engineering consultation from Engineering & Power Consultants Ltd. The power station was constructed byTarmac Constructionand the smelter by M.J. Gleeson Company.[12]Both the power station and smelter were brought into operation in March 1972.[13]

Design and specifications

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Electricity is fed from the power station to the smelter by a 24 kilovolt connection

Theboiler houseandturbine hallhave asteel framewith aluminiumcladding.Other structures include a single 114 m (374 ft) tall chimney ofreinforced concrete,and coal delivery and sorting plant.[14]

The station's boiler house houses three 380MWthInternational Combustionboilers, which were fuelled by pulverisedbituminous coal.[15][16]Each of these provide steam a 140megawatt(MW)Parsonsturbo-alternators,situated in the station's turbine hall.[16]These give the station a total generating capacity of 420 MW. The electricity generated was fed at 24kilovolts(kV) to asubstationto power the smelter during operation. The substation also has a 132 kV connection to theNational Grid,where electricity is distributed to homes and other industries byNorthern Electric Distribution Limited.The smelter's two pot lines required 310 MW of the 420 MW that the power station produces, so the excess 110 MW was fed into the national grid.[2]Since the closure of the smelter, all generation goes to the grid.

Between 1999 and 2000, the power station was given a turbine upgrade.[2]In 2000, the station's condensers were also refurbished. The condenser refurbishment was carried out byAlstom.[17]These improvements saw an increase in the station's generating capacity, thermal efficiency andMWhproduction.[2]

Operations

[edit]

Coal supply and transport

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Coal was delivered to the power station by railway and unloaded using amerry-go-roundsystem

The power station was the leading coal customer in Northumberland, burning 1,200,000 tonnes of coal a year, with a weekly coal consumption between 25,000 and 27,000 tonnes.[2][18]The station had relatively limited coal storage facilities, and was only able to hold three to four weeks' worth of its fuel.[18]

The station was designed specifically to burn coal from the Northumberland coalfields. The neighbouringEllington Collieryoriginally fed coal directly to the power station using aconveyor beltfrom its Bewick Drift Mine, situated 970 metres (3,180 ft) from the station.[18]Within a year of the power station opening, 3,000 men were employed between the Ellington and Lynemouth collieries, producing over two million tons of coal a year, the majority of it being sold to the power station.[19]In 1994, Ellington Colliery connected underground with Lynemouth Colliery, but coal continued to be taken straight to the power station's coal sorting area using conveyor belts. This supply was supplemented by coal from localopencast mines.However, Ellington Colliery was forced to close when it flooded in January 2005.[18]The station burned the colliery's remaining coal stock after it closed, and since then coal had been sourced from opencast mines inNorthumberlandandScotland,but then a small amount of import was necessary.[18]

Coal was then delivered to the station mainly using rail transport and was unloaded at the station using amerry-go-roundsystem. Trains supplying the station used the Newbiggin and Lynemouth branch line of theBlyth and Tyne Railway,which also served the smelter. This line was originally used to export coal from the local coalfield, and also had passenger services. These passenger services ceased in 1964, and then the line was only used to serve the power station and smelter.[20]Coal from the local opencast mines was brought to the station by road usingheavy goods vehicles.[21]Coal was graded and washed at the station prior to being burned.[22]

With only one significant opencast in the local area mining past 2008, along with another smaller opencast at Stony Heap, there was a need for more local supplies of coal for the station because of the risks in depending upon overseas sources of coal.[18]Long distance supplies of coal could see sharp fluctuations in price, as well as the flexibility and security of the supply, whereas local sources would not be as vulnerable to interruptions and would have fixed, contracted prices.[18]The station was not an established importer of coal, having only imported since 2005. It is situated a long way from the major coal unloading ports ofTeesside,HullandImmingham,which had been booked by power stations closer to them. This meant that coal for the power station needed to be imported viaBlythor thePort of Tyne.However, because of the small sizes of these docks, they can only receive ships fromPolandand Russia. Due to high production costs and industry restructuring in Poland though, the only realistic source of imported coal for the station was Russia.[18]Theenvironmental impact of shipping1,000,000 tonnes of coal from Russia to Lynemouth was the production of 12,812 tonnes of CO2,whereas hauling coal from local mines to the station would produce only 703 tonnes of CO2.[18]There were currently two local opencast mines for which planning approval had been granted, one at Shotton nearCramlingtonapproved in 2007, the other at Potland Burn nearAshingtonapproved in October 2008.[23]However, the coal mined from Potland Burn would have had too high asulphurcontent to meet the station's environmental requirements, meaning it would not have been an immediate choice of coal for the station.[24]Coal had been provided by the Delhi surface mine atBlagdon,owned byBanks Developments,since 2002. It finished extracting coal in March 2009, following the permission of extension proposals to its original plans in May 2007.[25]

Water use

[edit]

For creating the steam to turn steam turbines and generate electricity, and for cooling the steam coming away from the turbines, water is needed, and is thus beneficial to have near anythermal power station.[26]The cooling water that is used in the Lynemouth power station is taken from a body of water located close to the plant, theNorth Sea.The water is transferred from the sea to the plant by a series of shafts and tunnels.[27]There are threecondensers(one per each generating set) in the interior of the power station, which are used to cool the heated water before it is reused in thesteam cycle.The cooling water is then transferred back to the North Sea.[17]

Water used in the steam cycle is taken from the local mains water, supplied byNorthumbrian Water.Up to 300,000 tons of mains water per year is used in the station; however, it has to be cleaned of impurities before use. This is done at an on site water treatment plant that uses a process of ion exchange to remove impurities such as silica and control PH levels so as to avoid boiler tube corrosion. This treated water is used to make superheated steam in the coal-fired boilers, that will turn the turbines before being recovered in the condenser and reused.[citation needed]

Operating close to the power station is afishing baitcompany, Seabait. Seabait uses some of the excess hot water that the plant generates to grow worms four times as fast as in the wild.[28]The worms are used for several purposes, primarily for providing worms as bait while fishing. However, the worms are also frozen, packaged and exported to seafood farms.[29]This is seen as environmentally beneficial as it reduces the need for bait digging in natural habitats.[30]

Ash removal

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Ash from the station is usually either landfilled or recycled in theconstruction industry

Fly ashandbottom ashare two byproducts made through the burning of coal in power stations. Ash is normally dumped in the station's Ash Lagoons landfill site, which is located on site. Since 2006, ash produced at Lynemouth Power Station has been recycled and used as asub-fill materialin theconstruction industryand in the production ofgrout.In 2007, 63,000 tonnes of ash from the station, along with 100,000 tonnes of ash from the Ash Lagoons, was taken and recycled. In September 2007, Pulverised Fuel Ash was utilised as a filling material in the capping of Woodhorn Landfill, which had been used for the disposal ofspent potliningfrom the smelter.[31]

Biomass usage

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In December 2003 theEnvironment Agencygranted permission for the plant to co-fire biomass fuels in the station. Since 2004 three different types of biomass fuel been in use at Lynemouth;SawdustandWood pelletsfromFSCcertified forests and Olive residues. These fuels are mixed with the coal on the conveyor belt into the power station. In 2004 11,000 tonnes of biomass fuel were used in the station. Biomass conversion ambitions have increased, with the site currently aiming to be 100% biomass fired from 2015.[32]

The station earned the world class OHSAS 18001health and safetycertificate in 2003, ahead ofAlcan'sglobal targets. All of the station's staff were required to take place in safety audits to improve working practice at the station. The certificate was presented to the station's manager byWansbeckMPDenis Murphyon 15 March 2003.[33]The station's attention to health and safety was further recognised on 6 June 2007 when they were honoured by theRoyal Society for the Prevention of Accidents(RoSPA) with a RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Award at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel.[34]Workers at the station had been audited by RoSPA for 10 years before receiving the award.[35]

Coastal defence

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In late 1994, the power station was flooded to a foot deep of sea water, after a freak high tide and strong winds. This led to a sea defence system being constructed to protect the building.[36]The problems came about because of the temporary closure ofEllington Colliery.Tipped waste from the colliery had been used as a coastal defence measure, but as the colliery had closed, waste was no longer being tipped. The colliery was reopened by RJB Mining, and in July 1999 the station ensured the future of the colliery by signing a contract with RJB Mining to be provided with 3,000,000 tonnes of coal from Ellington Colliery and opencast mines in Northumberland, over the course of three years. The colliery closed for good in 2005, leading to problems with coastal defence again, threatening the station's coal stocking area.[37][38]This required a £2.5 million new coastal defence scheme be put in place, involving the use of large rocks as a defence wall.[37]

Environmental impact

[edit]

The power station's use of biomass since 2004 has been part of an attempt to reduce itscarbon dioxide(CO2) output. In 2002 and 2004 the station met its targets for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.[39]Despite this, in 2006 the power station was revealed as having the fourth highest CO2emissions in the north of England, for producing 2,685,512 tonnes of CO2per year.[40]However, generally the station reduced it CO2emissions by 65% between 1990 and 2010, and the local air quality meets UK and European standards.[41]

Windfarms

[edit]

In 2006 a proposal was made by Hawthorn Power, an offshoot ofUK Coal,to construct three 110 m (360 ft) tallwind turbineson an unused part of the station's coal sorting area, north of the power station.[42]Permission was granted for the turbines in February 2008. In July 2010, it was revealed that the project's new developer,Clipper Windpower,would be using the site to erect the country's first super-efficient wind turbines, calledLiberty Wind Turbine.However, this meant the height of the turbines would increase from 110 m (360 ft) to 130 m (430 ft). Each turbine would have a rating of 2.5 MW, but only three turbines would be built. The wind farm would produce enough electricity to provide power for 1,690 houses. One turbine is expected to be erected initially, while environmental issues are assessed.[43]

ScottishPower Renewablesalso have permission to build 13 wind turbines near the aluminium smelter. They were initially refused planning permission, which they submitted in November 2006. This was because their site is spread over two council boundaries andWansbeck Councilapproved the scheme, butCastle Morpethrefused. An appeal hearing was given in April 2008, and permission was eventually granted in January 2009 for the construction of up to 13 turbines, producing 30 MW of electricity.[44]

Future of the station

[edit]

Following a visit to the station by Prime MinisterGordon Brownon 3 July 2009, it became apparent thatRio Tinto Alcanwere hoping to be able to demonstrateCarbon Capture and Storage(CCS) technology at the station in the future, using "pre-combustion" CCS technology. This would have involved treating the coal prior to burning so that less CO2was produced, with any remaining CO2being pumped under theNorth Seainto anaquifer.[45]However, due to the economic climate, Rio Tinto did not commit the funding for the project themselves, and did not secure any of the required £1 billionEuropean Unionfunding available for demonstration of CCS technology.[5]In November 2009 it was announced that a variety of energy experts were preparing for the £1 billion bid to the Government for investment. The plans included a pipeline into the North Sea, and the upgrading of one of the station's generating sets from 140 MW to around 375 MW, to safeguard the supply of electricity to the aluminium smelter.[46]

TheEuropean Commission(EC) claimed that Alcan is in breach of their operating licence as the station has failed to "significantly reduce its emissions". The UK Government contested the allegations, as the power station and smelter combined then provided 650 jobs and a contribution of £100,000,000 to the local economy, in an area heavily affected by the loss of traditional heavy industry.[47]They lost the court case over it and on 22 April 2010, theEuropean Court of Justiceruled that the plant was subject to the emission limit values of theEuropean directiveon Large Combustion Plants.[48]As a consequence, the station has to have at least £200 million worth of adaptations made to it so that it conforms to the directive, or be shut down. A date has not yet been given for it to conform, but two options for saving the station are the CCS project, or a switch from coal to biomass as a fuel.[41]

Lynemouth's future came further under threat in March 2011, following carbon cutting measures announced in the2011 United Kingdom budget.The government's plans meant that the station would cost an extra £40 million a year, erasing Rio Tinto Alcan's profits on the station. This has made the station's operators consider the option of converting the power station to operate on biomass only to avoid the penalties. However, this conversion itself would cost €400 million and then using biomass instead of coal would cost an additional £170 million a year.[49]

Cultural use and visual impact

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Lynemouth power station's 370 ft (110 m) tall chimney can be seen over a 16 mi (26 km) stretch of the Northumberland coast.

Since its construction, the station has made appearances in a small number of films shot locally. These include:

  • Seacoal– a film made byAmber Filmsin 1985. The station is features heavily as a backdrop in the beach scenes, where the characters are working, collecting seacoal.[50]PhotographerMik Critchlow(who would later become involved with Amber Films' sister company Side Gallery) also documented the seacoalers at Lynemouth, between 1981 and 1983.[51]He also used the power station as an industrial backdrop to some of his images.[52][53]
  • Billy Elliot– a 2000 film directed byStephen Daldry.The power station and the smelter both feature as an industrial backdrop in the film's cemetery scenes. The power station's coal sorting area is used to represent a colliery.[54]

The chimney of the power station is a strong landmark on the local coastline, and can be seen over a 25-kilometre (16 mi) stretch of coast, fromCresswell[55]down toSouth Shields pier.[56]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^abGodsen, Emily (7 January 2016)."RWE sells Lynemouth power plant to EPH ahead of biomass conversion – Telegraph".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved8 January2016.
  2. ^abcde"No Slide Title"(PDF).John Clarkson.Alcan.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 July 2011.Retrieved29 July2008.
  3. ^"Power Station Locations and Capacities".United Kingdom Quality Ash Association.Archived fromthe originalon 25 September 2009.Retrieved26 September2009.
  4. ^"Energy efficiency, electricity production and air quality improved at Lynemouth".Alcan.Archived fromthe originalon 7 November 2003.Retrieved29 July2008.
  5. ^ab"Prime Minister pays visit to Alcan Lynemouth plant".The Journal.3 July 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2010.Retrieved15 July2009.
  6. ^abCrosland, Anthony (29 May 1968)."Aluminium Smelters".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).Retrieved2 September2009.
  7. ^Pevsner, Nikolaus; John Grundy; Ian Richmond; Grace McCombie; Humphrey Welfare; Peter Ryder; Stafford Linsley (1992).Northumberland(2 ed.). Yale University Press. p. 103.ISBN0-300-09638-0.Retrieved8 February2009.
  8. ^Crosland (10 July 1968)."Aluminium Smelters".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).Retrieved2 September2009.
  9. ^"Structure details".SINE Project (Structural Images of the North East).Newcastle University.Archived fromthe originalon 28 May 2006.Retrieved29 July2008.
  10. ^Fernyhough (1 July 1968)."Unemployment (Northumberland)".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).Retrieved2 September2009.
  11. ^Catford, Nick (15 March 2005)."Site Records"(SHTML).Retrieved8 February2009.
  12. ^Architects, Royal Institute of British (1973)."RIBA Journal".80:433.Retrieved14 July2009.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  13. ^"Cornerstone that looked far from secure".The Journal.3 July 2002.Retrieved28 December2008.[dead link]
  14. ^"30MW Northumberland wind farm wins consent on appeal".12 January 2009.Retrieved22 February2009.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^"EU Emissions Trading Scheme Benchmark Research for Phase 2"(PDF).Entec Engine Corporation.July 2005. p. 318. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 February 2009.Retrieved17 February2009.
  16. ^ab"Coal-Fired Power Plants in England – North".30 May 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 10 December 2012.Retrieved17 February2009.
  17. ^ab"ALSTOM wins euros 7 million condensor contract from Alacan in the UK".Alstom.24 November 2000. Archived fromthe originalon 15 March 2017.Retrieved23 September2009.
  18. ^abcdefghiPrice, David (2006)."SHOTTON SURFACE MINING SCHEME".pp. 3–5.Retrieved8 January2009.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^Tuck, James (1993).The Collieries of Northumberland.Vol. 2. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trade Union Printing Serviced. p. 47.ISBN1-871518-12-1.
  20. ^"Newbiggin Station"(PHP).Retrieved22 February2009.
  21. ^"Coal mining in the 21st Century".BBC News.Archived fromthe originalon 13 November 2012.Retrieved8 January2009.
  22. ^"Coal mining in the 21st Century".BBC News.Archived fromthe originalon 13 November 2012.Retrieved8 January2009.
  23. ^Black, Dave (8 October 2008)."Ashington loses opencast mine fight".The Journal.Archived fromthe originalon 11 August 2011.Retrieved8 January2009.
  24. ^"Dispute Over Jobs Promise".19 October 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 22 May 2011.Retrieved8 January2009.
  25. ^"Delhi Surface Mine".Banks Developments. Archived fromthe originalon 21 November 2008.Retrieved2 September2012.
  26. ^"Steam turbines".Archived fromthe original(PHP)on 20 March 2009.Retrieved23 September2009.
  27. ^"Offshore Shaft Construction in the North Sea".1 January 1997. Archived fromthe originalon 23 July 2011.Retrieved22 February2009.
  28. ^"Bait company bought out of administration".The Journal.Archived fromthe originalon 4 October 2011.Retrieved2 August2008.
  29. ^Walker, Howard (14 August 2003)."University casts out and US takes bait".The Journal.Retrieved8 January2009.[dead link]
  30. ^"Water Abstraction"(PDF).Scottish Government.p. 6.Retrieved8 April2011.
  31. ^Anderson, R.J. (2007)."Environmental Report 2007"(PDF).Rio Tinto Alcan.pp. 4–5. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 January 2009.Retrieved8 January2009.
  32. ^"Another record year for Port of Blyth".The Journal.17 February 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 7 March 2014.Retrieved10 March2014.
  33. ^"A powerful accolade".Evening Chronicle.15 March 2003.Retrieved2 January2009.[dead link]
  34. ^Burn, Zoe (6 June 2007)."Safety record praise".Herald & Post.Retrieved2 January2009.[dead link]
  35. ^Tomlinson, Gayle (9 June 2005)."In safe hands".Evening Chronicle.Retrieved2 January2009.[dead link]
  36. ^"Those in peril from the sea".Evening Chronicle.27 January 1995.Retrieved28 December2008.[dead link]
  37. ^abBlack, Dave (8 April 2005)."Bid to protect key plant from waves".The Journal.Retrieved28 December2008.[dead link]
  38. ^"Big Coal Deal Protects Jobs".Evening Chronicle.5 July 1999.Retrieved2 January2009.[dead link]
  39. ^"Environmental Report 2004"(PDF).John Clarkson.Alcan.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 6 September 2008.Retrieved29 July2008.
  40. ^Doherty, Phil (27 August 2006)."Shame of North's Worst Pollution".Sunday Sun.Retrieved28 December2008.[dead link]
  41. ^abTighe, Chris (23 April 2010)."Doubt cast over power plant's future".Financial Times.Archived fromthe originalon 26 April 2010.Retrieved5 May2010.
  42. ^Stirling, Nigel (1 November 2006)."Ward: Lynemouth".The Journal.Retrieved2 January2009.[dead link]
  43. ^Black, David (28 July 2010)."New breed of wind turbine set for Lynemouth".The Journal.pp. 1–3. Archived fromthe originalon 4 April 2012.Retrieved21 January2011.
  44. ^"Planning Approval for Lynemouth Windfarm in Northumberland".Scottish Power.9 January 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2009.Retrieved14 July2009.
  45. ^Thompson, Liam (2 April 2009)."Lynemouth power station leads the way".News Post Leader.Archived fromthe originalon 16 February 2012.Retrieved15 July2009.
  46. ^Pearson, Adrian (9 November 2009)."£1bn bid launched for North clean coal plan".The Journal.North East England.Archived fromthe originalon 7 March 2012.Retrieved10 November2009.
  47. ^"Alcan future threatened by Euro pollution laws".The Journal.21 January 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 2 September 2011.Retrieved17 September2009.
  48. ^"Recent case".22 April 2010.Retrieved26 April2010.
  49. ^Warburton, Dan (25 March 2011)."Lynemouth firm Rio Tinto Alcan says Budget changes have put 600 jobs under threat".Evening Chronicle.Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2016.Retrieved2 April2011.
  50. ^"Seacoal (1985)".Amber Online.Retrieved15 July2009.
  51. ^White, Susie (14 November 2022)."Country diary: This beach is ever-changing. Today it is black with sea coal".The Guardian.London.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved9 March2023.
  52. ^Critchlow, Mik."004".Amber Online.Archived fromthe originalon 8 September 2008.Retrieved16 July2009.
  53. ^"Seacoalers".Amber Online.Archived fromthe originalon 14 September 2011.Retrieved16 July2009.
  54. ^Stephen Daldry – Director (2000).Billy Elliot(DVD). Universal. Event occurs at 00:12:52 – 00:13:35, 01:13:00 – 01:14:30, 01:31:30 – 01:32:20.Retrieved17 July2009.
  55. ^Cornfoot, Roger (26 February 2007)."Broad Skear, Cresswell".Geograph.Retrieved23 September2009.
  56. ^Smith, Quintin (2 March 2008)."Up the coast".Flickr.Retrieved23 September2009.
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