Former Wolsingham Ironworks, Wolsingham, County Durham
Former Wolsingham Ironworks, Wolsingham, County Durham.
BXB Wolsingham Ltd is a Joint Venture between the land owner and BXB formed in 2019.
The Ironworks was founded in 1864 and was a major employer in the area for a century and a half. The site produced high grade steel for ship building and munitions, using the very finest Weardale ore.
The site declined from the mid-eighties onwards and finally closed 13 years ago. The buildings on site were demolished in 2008 and the site has laid derelict and vacant since.Despite demolition works being completed in 2008 , all the buildings foundations remained in situ and the likely source of contamination. Delivering a viable clean site to end users was BXB’s main challenge and the key to its delivery.
The bespoke project team undertook an historic data review to enable them to obtain a complete picture of the site’s development constraints. The site has a good planning prospect with its brownfield characteristics and its location, within the settlement boundary. The development opportunity and the market’s requirements were unknown due to the lack of recent development activity in this part of County Durham.
BXB submitted a comprehensive planning application in June 2020 which addressed the remedial, engineering, drainage, ecology, viability and access constraints of the site. Our planning application included the re-use of the historic on site office building, a reduced run off rate into the River Wear to assist in the growth of the local otter population and the delivery of 151 new family homes.
