Ironbridge Redevelopment.

Client

Harworth Group

Size

1,000 dwellings, 200,000 sq ft employment

Local Authority

Shropshire Council

Sectors

Residential, Mixed-use

Key Project Information

The planning issues raised by the development proposals are complex and unique. The site is in a sensitive location, adjacent to a designated World Heritage Site, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, local wildlife sites and Ancient Woodland. These constraints resulted in significant planning challenges, exacerbated by the fact that the site straddles two local authority boundaries. As lead planning consultant our planning strategy was to work collaboratively with all stakeholders and to address the issues raised with tenacity and with the aim to deliver creative solutions that enhance value and promote sustainable development.
As a result, the development proposals were approved by Telford and Wrekin Council in May 2021 and by Shropshire Council in September 2021.
We provided the following areas of expertise during the project – planning; public engagement; landscape; heritage and economics

Our approved masterplan for Ironbridge Power Station will transform this former industrial site into a sustainable new community, providing additional homes, jobs and infrastructure for local people. We have worked with stakeholders every step of the way to ensure this is a long-term development that the community can be proud of, and one that is well connected to the existing local network of roads, footpaths and open spaces that surround the site. Work to remove the former power station buildings is well-progressed and we aim to begin the first phase of construction on the site early next year. As always, we will engage with all local stakeholders to keep them updated of our progress.

David Cockroft, Regional Director for the Midlands at Harworth

The proposed development will deliver up to 1,000 new homes, in addition to a retirement village, up to 200,000 sq ft of employment space comprising offices and light industrial units, and a local centre offering convenience retail and other services. The plans will also provide a range of community amenities such as allotments, sports pitches, and a new primary school. In addition, the former power station’s 1930s pumphouse will be retained as part of the proposals and transformed into a flexible space for community and leisure uses.

The provision of green infrastructure is central to the Masterplan. The development will include a comprehensive network of off-road walking and cycling routes to enable active travel choices and provide connectivity to the surrounding area, and Harworth is currently exploring opportunities to bring the old railway link to the site back into use. The plans will also provide extensive green space such as pocket parks, play areas and vegetation throughout the public realm, and several new attenuation ponds, which will offer enhanced protection for local wildlife.

Site preparation works are ongoing, with demolition works due to be substantially complete by the end of this year. The development will then be delivered in phases over 10 to 15 years.

The objective is to create a sustainable mixed-use community that draws on the area’s industrial history and reflects its proximity to a World Heritage Site. In addition to 1,000 new homes and employment space, the site will deliver new community infrastructure and extensive green space, benefiting residents and the wider environment.

We held our first public consultation event at the site in October 2018 and used stakeholder feedback to create an illustrative masterplan for the site. In June 2019, Harworth commenced demolition works to remove the former power station buildings and associated infrastructure, which included the demolition of the power station’s four cooling towers later that year. The outline planning application for the development was submitted in December 2019, alongside a separate application to extract up to 1.9 million tonnes of sand and gravel as part of the site preparation works.

Outline planning permission was granted (subject to the completion of the Section 106 Agreement) by Telford and Wrekin Council in May 2021 and by Shropshire Council in September 2021.