Former Ironbridge Power Station
Harworth Group’s highest profile acquisition of 2018; the 142 hectare former Ironbridge Power Station is planned for regeneration into a mixed-use scheme, creating a new community at the heart of the region’s industrial heritage.
OPPORTUNITY
The former Ironbridge Power Station site has been master planned for a new development incorporating a range of housing including a retirement village, employment and leisure uses and associated community facilities. Outline planning permission was obtained in September 2022.
Consultants were jointly appointed by the two local authorities and Harworth to assess the viability of re-opening the railway line principally for passengers. Such re-opening has the potential to significantly improve public transport connections for local residents and tourists into this part of the West Midlands region.
Promoter / Partners: Harworth Group plc from Shropshire Council
Scale: £250m+ GDV
Sector: Housing, employment, leisure and community uses
Location: Ironbridge, Shropshire
Investment Type: A range of future delivery and investment options
Programme: 2022–2036
Planning Status: Outline planning approval granted in September 2021
Website: www.ironbridgeregeneration.co.uk
https://www.investinshropshire.co.uk/locations/formerironbridge-power-station/
BACKGROUND
The power station ceased to generate power in 2015 and was sold by previous owner, Uniper, to the Harworth Group plc following the completion of decommissioning works in June 2018.
It is located on the southern bank of the River Severn approximately one kilometre from Ironbridge village. The boundaries of the eastern part of the site lie immediately adjoining, but excluded from, the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site which is a key visitor attraction.
Since buying the site, Harworth Group plc has both master planned development, obtained outline planning and completed demolition in early 2022. Extensive site reclamation works have commenced and will be on-going.
DESCRIPTION
The former Ironbridge Power Station forms the largest single redevelopment site in Shropshire. Its 142 hectare site located on the border of neighbouring Telford at the heart of Shropshire is in a rural environment with good road and rail connectivity to the Black Country and the wider West Midlands region.
Harworth Group plc had outline planning approval granted in September 2021, from both Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council which is subject to agreements. The Group also obtained planning consent in September 2022 to extract up to 1.9 million tonnes of sand and gravel to Shropshire Council.
The outline outline permission includes plans for 1,000 homes, a retirement village, a new local centre to contain a mix of leisure, commercial, retail and health uses, a primary school, nature corridors, public open space and the re-use of the site’s pump house to support either retail, community or river-based uses. This site’s planning permission includes for circa 16,000m² of commercial space alongside 2,200m² of retail provision.
The application is supported by a number of key documents which explain how the plan has been arrived at, including a detailed Design & Access Statement which is being incorporated into a site wide Design Code, a full Transport Assessment and a series of environmental plans including flood risk and ecological assessments.
The application follows eighteen months of detailed consideration, including two public consultations held on-site in 2018 and 2019 which attracted nearly 1,000 people in total, establishing a detailed understanding of the site’s assets and constraints and considering the site’s role in supporting lronbridge’s leisure & tourism offer.
PROMOTER AND PARTNERSHIPS
The Former Ironbridge Station is being promoted by Shropshire Council, working in partnership with site owner and developer the Harworth Group plc.
LOCATION
The Ironbridge Power Station site is located in the historic setting of Ironbridge on the Telford and wider Shropshire border in close proximity to the M54 Motorway and wider West Midlands region.