Property and contruction consultant Rider Levett Bucknall is to help breathe new life into the world’s only surviving steel crucible.
Darnall Works, in Sheffield’s Don Valley, dates back to 1870 and helped propel the city to global dominance during the industrial revolution. Now, Mayflower Land Holdings Ltd, a related company of steel laser cutting firm, Mayflower Technology, which owns part of the seven acre site, is looking to restore the red-brick Crucible Buildings.
The company is planning to convert the buildings into 14,000 square feet of high-quality commercial space, as part of a wider regeneration scheme of some 54,000 square feet. It is a £5.4m regeneration project and a new company - Mayflower Sheffield Developments Ltd - has been set up to work alongside English Heritage to oversee the restoration of the ancient monument.
The company has applied to the Government Office Yorkshire and Humberside Objective 1 Programme Directorate for Objective 1 funding, and Rider Levett Bucknall has been appointed by the Objective 1 Programme Directorate to undertake a cost and value appraisal for the grant application.
John Kipling, Senior Development Consultant at Rider Levett Bucknall, says the appointment further strengthens the group’s relationship with the government-backed organisations involved in administering the Objective 1 programme.
He says: “Rider Levett Bucknall continues to be the consultant of choice for grant approval work. We were appointed because of our previous record of performance in carrying out these appraisals and the organisations’ trust in us to do a professional job.”