Sheffield Forgemasters has been given the green light to build a landmark machining facility on brownfield land in Sheffield’s Meadowhall district.
The castings and forgings specialist is set to construct a 322,000 sqft facility on a 16-acre plot at Weedon Street, helping to form one the world’s most advanced large plants of its kind, to support the Ministry of Defence-owned company’s manufacture for the 海角视频 defence programmes. Work to prepare the site is already under way and the building will cover a space equal to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, hosting some of the largest and most advanced vertical turning lathes ever made.
Plans for the new machining facility show the finished building will stand more than 104ft high, close to the River Don and designed to complement the historic look of the company’s existing buildings. A second building, almost 38,000sqft in space, is also proposed to house a test-house facility and a training area, to transfer vital skills to the next generation of engineers.
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Craig Fisher, programmes director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “This planning agreement will see construction of the largest machining hall of its kind in the 海角视频, and regeneration of a prominent brownfield site in the city’s industrial centre. It signals an amazing investment for the city and for the wider 海角视频, which will create highly-skilled engineering jobs for decades to come, fully supporting our national defence programmes.
“The sheer scale of the building will make it an iconic landmark, and will eclipse the construction of the 海角视频’s largest open-die forging-line, which is also under way on our adjacent Brightside Lane site.
“What we are creating in the centre of Britain’s historical industrial heartland is unparalleled in the 海角视频 and will not only de-risk supply for the 海角视频’s A海角视频US defence programme, but it will also deliver technologically advanced and rewarding working facilities for our employees.”
The machining facility is set to be operational by the end of 2028. The machine shop project team consists of Arup, which handled the ecological and travel assessments, Bond Bryan Architects, and JLL, which acted on behalf of Sheffield Forgemasters for the site acquisition and planning submissions.
Joanna Gabrilatsou, regional head of planning at JLL, said: “JLL has been working closely with Sheffield Forgemasters and Sheffield City Council to ensure the delivery of Sheffield Forgemasters’ time-critical growth programme is met, and are delighted with the decision.
"Approval of the new machine shop is essential to allow Sheffield Forgemasters to operate in a modern, fit-for-purpose facility, and is highly beneficial to the city and the region’s economy. It will also allow the regeneration of the vacant Weedon St plots. We are already working on the first phase of enabling works as part of an existing consent, and we’re now gearing up to discharge conditions to implement the next phase of construction.”