IT has been five years since plans were first submitted to build a gas plant in Byley.

In that time they have been scrutinised by Cheshire County Council and a public inquiry inspector before being approved by a High Court judge.

Last year ScottishPower sold the right to build the Holford Gas Storage Facility to E.ON UK but what exactly has happened since the power giant took on the enormous task?

Project manager Mike Cooper said: "There has been a great deal going on at the site but many people will probably not realise exactly what."

Last Wednesday the Guardian was given a tour of the site in Byley to see what has been achieved in a short space of time.

The plant, which will take four years to build with the first phase operational by 2009, will be the first of its kind in this country for E.ON UK.

Preparatory work, which included stripping back topsoil, erecting fencing and creating temporary offices, finished just before Christmas and now drilling work has started.

E.ON UK spokeswoman Emily Highmore said: "It is not as loud as people imagine it would be.

"It doesn't sound like a normal drill you would use in your home - it is more of a murmur."

Contractors will spend the next year drilling eight caverns - measuring 100 metres in height and diameter - at one site in Drakelow Lane before extracting brine.

The men currently work in teams of five on 12-hour shifts and will initially drill up to 12 hours a day.

Some of the drilling will eventually continue 24 hours a day but noise is strictly monitored.

Mr Cooper said: "We can be prosecuted if we break the rules.

"We always stick to stringent noise guidelines, which are regularly checked."

Drilling 1,400ft down into the first cavern should be finished by the end of next month.

Steel casing will then be inserted into the hole to maintain the shape of the wells so the caverns can be created.

Water will be pumped 600 metres underground where it will dissolve the salt deposit to produce brine, which will then be extracted to form the storage caverns.

They will eventually be connected by a 2km gas pipeline to the nearby gas compressor station, which will be built on the site of the former RAF Cranage.

That will then be connected to the national transmission system by a 4km pipeline.

There may have been lots of initial opposition to the project but many in the community are now benefiting from it.

Mr Cooper said: "We are bringing some real investment into the area."

Local contractors have successfully bid for work, including civil engineering company Daniels from Warrington and Nuttalls, based in Northwich, and they will make millions from the project.

But the community is involved in more than just construction as local people are helping with everything from security to cleaning and even delivering sandwiches to the sites at lunchtime.

Environmental issues have been a top priority on the sites and extensive surveys have been carried out.

That was when experts discovered great crested newts were in the area but special plastic fences have been erected to stop them getting in.

Bats will also be protected once the plant is built and some of the former bunkers on the RAF site could eventually become bat and bird roosts.

Trees and shrubs have already been planted to screen the plant from the road.

Mr Cooper said: "We've got to start off behaving like good neighbours and continue like that.

"We want to forge good relationships with the local community."

More than 10,200 hedgerow plants have been planted along with more than 8,000 shrubs and about 12,000 trees including holly, oak and hawthorn.

By the time construction work is finished, an area equivalent to 15 football pitches will have been planted along with more than 28,000 metres of hedgerow - the distance from Northwich to Manchester.

Even fencing that surrounds the offices where the gas plant will be built have been covered in green camouflage material to blend in with the countryside.

There are about 100 workers on both sites and up to 20 lorries allowed to arrive at each site every day.

Drivers are asked to clean the wheels of their lorry with a special machine when they arrive and leave to ensure they keep the local roads mud free.

When it is completed the plant will have the capacity to store enough gas to meet half of the UK's daily demand.

Emily added: "It will be one of the fastest churn facilities in the UK, allowing for greater flexibility in terms of quickly moving large volumes of gas into and out of the National Transmission System."