PLANS have been unveiled to transform a 144 year old Sheffield steel works into one of the greenest and cleanest steel plants in the region.
Sheffield architect Race Cottam has created a masterplan for Sheffield Forgemasters' 64 acre Brightside Lane works which includes significant improvements to the main buildings along Brightside Lane.
The historic Vickers Building would be rejuvenated, an old machine shop brought back into use, buildings will be re-clad and new, landscaped green areas will be created.
The architects have come up with a series of proposals for energy conservation and heat reclamation, flood protection – using ponds and watercourses, called 'swales' – and improvements to traffic flow on Brightside Lane, which is currently crossed by large numbers of multi-wheel vehicles transporting ingots and molten steel. Plans also take into account how the site might develop over the next 25 years.
Forgemasters' director, Peter Birtles, said: "This is an exciting time for Forgemasters as we are keen to plan for the future of our site. But we also have a responsibility to both recognise the historic qualities of this site and its immediate environment. Race Cottam's proposals have really opened our eyes to the possibilities available to us."
Project architect, Peter Fauset, said: "We have worked closely with the company to come up with a masterplan which addresses the site's immediate concerns, whilst also taking into account the need for further expansion over the next quarter century.
"Our proposals emphasise significant environmental and sustainable solutions which the company is keen to promote."
n Sheffield Forgemasters can trace its roots back to 1805, when George Naylor built a steelworks at Millsands, where the Riverside office development close to Sheffield city centre now stands.
Edward Vickers joined forces with Naylor to form Naylor Vickers and in 1864 opened the River Don Works on Brightside Lane. The company became part of the English Steel Corporation and then the British Steel Corporation.
Denationalisation in 1982 resulted in the merger of what was then BSC River Don with private sector steel company Firth Brown to create Sheffield Forgemasters.
Then, in 1998, the company's special melted products business was sold to Allegheny Teledyne, leaving the operations, which, by and large, comprise Sheffield Forgemasters International today.
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