WORK to demolish the south terminals at Centrica's Barrow site is set to start in June after more than 30 years producing gas for the UK's homes and businesses.

The £15m project to remove more than 14,000 tonnes of concrete and equipment at the site off Rampside Road after the energy firm moved its gas processing to the neighbouring north terminal last year.

The demolition work will take around 18 months to complete and Centrica hopes the work will get under way in June, subject to securing planning permission from Barrow Borough Council.

The move is part of an £85m project to make the most of the company's more modern north terminal and install a new pipeline. The older, southern terminal is no longer needed, with its replacement capable of dealing with all the gas processed offshore at the Morecambe fields - enough to heat 1.5million UK homes.

The northern terminal is also more environmentally friendly as it uses an advanced method of drying beads, similar to silica gel, to chill the gas and remove liquid before entering the network.

Gas at the South Morecambe Terminal was previously cooled by a CFC refrigerant called freon, which is now prohibited by European Union legislation.

The south terminal started processing gas from Morecambe Bay in 1985 following a three-year construction process, with the adjacent North Morecambe Terminal built in 1994 to cope with the extra gas produced after fields were discovered in the east Irish Sea.

Barrow’s gas terminals are responsible for around eight per cent of the UK’s gas supply, down from a peak of 25 per cent after the site first opened.

Barrow Borough Council is due to make a decision on the demolition planning application by May 29.