Case Study – The British Ironworks Site Options Appraisal

Client: Torfaen County Borough Council
Torfaen County Borough Council acquired “The British”, a former ironworks site near Talywain to start a remediation scheme. The site is just over 4 miles from Pontypool town centre and a similar distance from the Blaenavon World Heritage Site and includes a number of scheduled and listed structures in varying states of disrepair.

The British takes its name from the British Ironworks, founded on the site in the 1820s and operating until the 1880s. From the 1900s until the 1970s, a number of collieries and drift mines were opened on the site.

Working with Davies Sutton Architects, we carried out an options appraisal for the Cornish Engine House and the former NCB Building and Quadrangle. The Cornish Engine House was installed in 1845 to assist drainage from the deep levels. The NCB Building and Quadrangle housed offices that provided administrative support for the various industrial operations carried out at The British. PSC’s work focused on: carrying out a site assessment from an operational and visitor experience perspective; assessing the tourism marketplace (including the tourism profile, attractions and activity centre); analysing the demographic profile within key drive-time contours; identifying a range of potential end uses including a visitor centre, heritage centre, restaurant, office space, activity centre, bike hire, community space and onsite visitor accommodation; and developing a scoring matrix to evaluate opportunities. The appraisal gave Torfaen County Borough Council an evidence-based framework for deciding how to bring these historic structures back into productive use.  

How Can We Help?
If you’re considering the future of a historic site or building and need an independent, evidence-based view on realistic options, we’d be glad to talk it through. Call Richard Linington: 07866 742628 or email: richard@pslplan.co.uk.  Read more about our work in the heritage sector.