Worsley Delph Heritage Restoration and Environmental Improvements

A Beautiful Monster is how this scheme was affectionately known by the client, design and construction team.

Steeped in rich industrial heritage and surrounded by 'chocolate box' cottages and buildings. With wildlife in abundance the Worsley Delph site had become engulfed by the tide of vegetation over many years. Due to its near inaccessible aspect and its ever-increasing demands during austerity, maintenance of the area had declined, and the historical gem was slowly disappearing. Nature was overwhelming the waterways with thickets of reedbeds, whilst the vibrant quarry face walls were screened by a vertical sea of ivy spreading tall and wide, masking the history of bygone days.

The brief and aims of this scheme were to:
* Enhance this heritage setting by conserving and restoring the historic fabric, structures and artefacts on site;
* Enhance the visual setting of the site via substantial, site-wide environmental improvements;
* Develop enhanced interpretation to improve understanding of Worsley Delph's historical significance at the start/heart of the Industrial Revolution and the birthplace of the Bridgewater Canal;
* Maximise public access;
* Protect and enhance the ecology of the site in the most sustainable manner.

The key construction elements of this scheme were to undertake;- silt extraction to the Delph basin and waterways, installation of a cantilevered multi-level viewing platform, restoration of Worsley Road bridge, replacement of a pedestrian bridge, clearance and installation of paving to the scheduled ancient monument, restoration of the historic sluice gate, installation of 8m high sculpture, lighting, environmental enhancements and the installation of bespoke interpretation features.

All this within the parameters of the many and varied designations associated with the site: Scheduled Ancient Monument, 5No listed buildings and structures, Tree Preservation Orders, located within its conservation area, a public right of way, a maternity roost of Daubenton's bats, extremely restricted site access, bound by adjacent businesses and residential properties, the active waterway of the Bridgewater Canal, a major motorway junction, severed by a busy A-road and an ever present potential of a blowout from a buildup of water pressures within the mines.