[ssf] Tinsley Cooling Towers, Sheffield - Icons of England

[worldwarfree at riseup.net]

Tinsley Cooling Towers, Sheffield - Icons of England

If you've ever driven into Sheffield from the M1, you'll be familiar with
the Tinsley Cooling Towers - a piece of industrial landscape that's become
one of the city's most famous landmarks. For now at least.

So the Tinsley cooling towers are coming down on the 24 8 08 at 3am we are
told, we have been a little busy and circumspect as much as we can be when
there is cctv all over the place.

That is problem one, but where there is a will there is a means, is there
not. Yep, we would like the challenge plus fun of it all, it only comes
down to trespass (forgive those who trespass against us and those we
trespass against) and a little walking, this in mind strong footwear, a
willingness to push it a little and we might just end up being the last
people to document those cooling towers.
To the plan, we feel a meet on the 9th Aug 08  could be a cool idea, now
we ask you to pm us for time location and the rest of our thoughts, you
never know who could reading.
We need more than six people to make this happen no more than 12, as
getting that lot to where we need them to be could prove a little hard.

Only people who are calm relaxed and cool please, as this is a direct
action assault on the cooling towers with an aim of getting some media
coverage and just fucking off E-ON and there rudeness and inconsideration
at the demolition of a Sheffield Landmark.
If you are up for a little bit of Direct Action, a desire to get some
images plus make a point then email worldwarfreeatriseupdotnet

E.ON UK owns the two remaining cooling towers at the Blackburn Meadows
site in Sheffield. Often referred to as the 'Tinsley towers', the 250ft
high structures stand around 17 metres away from the M1 viaduct and are
set to be demolished, clearing the way for the regeneration of the site
and surrounding area. 'Green' Tinsley power station plan approved

A scheme valued at £60m for a 'green' power station in Tinsley was
approved this week, despite concerns that it could add to pollution in
part of Sheffield with some of the worst pollution levels.Councillors
backed the project for the site of the old Blackburn Meadows power
station, next to the doomed cooling towers, after being told that it will
generate renewable energy for 40,000 homes.

Power company E.On UK wants to burn waste wood andother biomass fuels,
such as specially grown crops including willow and elephant grass.

English Heritage wrote <a href="http://www.tinsley
towers.org.uk/pages/english_heritage.pdf">www.tinsley-towers.org.uk/pages/english_heritage.pdf</a>
that the Towers, built in 1938, are the oldest surviving hyperbolic
Cooling Towers in the UK and that their prominence provides a visual
indication of the former scale and importance of Sheffield’s steel
industry.

Three quarters of the public want them saved
The BBC online poll established <a
href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/image_galleries/tinsley_cooling_towers_gallery.shtml">www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/image_galleries/tins...</a>
that three quarters of the public want them saved. This makes more than
half a million supporters in Sheffield and Rotherham alone. E.ON's own
poll was flawed by a mix-up of criteria.

E.ON's biomass plant is unfeasible

Sheffield Council stated <a
href="http://www.tinsley-towers.org.uk/pages/council_study.pdf">www.tinsley-towers.org.uk/pages/council_study.pdf</a>
that there is insufficient fuel available for a major biomass plant and no
need for heat in the area. <a
href="http://www.tinsley-towers.org.uk/">www.tinsley-towers.org.uk/</a>
study  <a
href="http://www.tinsley-towers.org.uk/pages/jakobs_report.pdfcame">www.tinsley-towers.org.uk/pages/jakobs_report.pdfcame</a>
to the same conclusion. Cenex (ref/p8-3) considers biomass unsustainable.


E.ON admits that the layout of their proposed plant does not conflict with
the location of the Towers, but states: &quot;before the E.ON site can be
developed the cooling towers need to be demolished. This will leave a
clean and level site capable of development for a wide range of uses.

About the area

Tinsley, Darnall and Acres Hill are all part of the historic 'East End' of
the city, whose fortunes were based upon the city's pre-eminence in metal
manufacture (see map, pdf). These neighbourhoods have been most
dramatically affected by the recent regeneration of the East End. Darnall
is bordered: to the west by the Don Valley, to the south and east by the
Parkway access corridor to the M1, and to the north by Tinsley. Darnall
has a number of areas with their own, often very distinct, cultural and
social strands. These include Greenlands and Stovin council estates;
Staniforth Rd; Littledale High Hazels; Triangle and Housteads. Over 40% of
the housing stock is terraced, with many of the older style properties
providing low cost accommodation. There is also a higher than average
proportion of households in rented properties.

Tinsley, famous for the landmark Tinsley Cooling Towers, has close
proximity to the M1, Meadowhall Shopping Centre and Magna science
adventure centre. This also brings associated problems arising from high
traffic flows. It borders on the Rotherham boundary resulting in local
people accessing Rotherham services. Whilst over half of the housing stock
consists of older terraced properties, 60% of properties are owner
occupied and there have been new developments of 4 bedroom housing built
by Ben Bailey Homes, recently sold for £125,000 - a vivid indication of
the complex vitality of the area Although often and historically linked
together Tinsley and Darnall are not naturally aligned. Major roads,
unused land and green spaces create physical barriers between these two
neighbourhoods. Differences in industrial infrastructure, new
manufacturing enterprises, and the recent development of major
entertainment and sporting facilities create economic and social
distinctions. Darnall and Acres Hill are adjacent neighbourhoods with a
total population of over 11,300; Tinsley's population is just under 4,500.

A distinctive feature of the Tinsley and Darnall neighbourhoods is that
approximately 40% of the population are Asian/Asian British, which is
considerably higher than the city average of 4.6%. Acres Hill however has
a 92% white population. Both Tinsley and Darnall have a long history of
migrant families moving and settling in the area with many of the South
Asian families having lived and worked in Tinsley and Darnall for the last
40 years. In Tinsley, the recent influx of economic migrants including
Polish and Slovakian people has resulted in higher demands on local
services and resources.

One of the three designated local authority sites for Gypsies and
Travellers is located in Tinsley and a number of Gypsy and Travellers live
in houses in the area. Whilst statistics for the Gypsy and Traveller
community are hard to source it is generally accepted that the health of
Gypsy and Travellers is very poor and life expectancy well below that of
the settled population.

All three neighbourhoods have a higher than average percentage of
households claiming Income Support when compared to the City as a whole.
In Darnall, approximately 43% of households claim benefit and this is more
than double the City's average. In Tinsley and Darnall around 9% of the
population is aged under 5, which is well above the City's average of
5.4%. However, the proportion of people over 65 is just below the City
average in Tinsley and Darnall. In contrast, approximately 25% of the
Acres Hill population is aged over 65, considerably higher than the City
average.

Overall, life expectancy for people in Darnall and Acres Hill is 75.4 and
74.5 years respectively and both are significantly lower than City average
of 78.6. In Tinsley, life expectancy is 78.1.