PUBLIC MEETING
CASTLEGATE: FAIRYTALE OR PHEONIX?
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What: Talks on CASTLEGATE - aspirations and progress
When:Tuesday, March 20th, 18.30 - 20.00
Where: The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield S1 4FW.
Who: Open to the public
Speakers include:
- Valerie Bayliss, of the Castlegate Preservation Trust and the Save Sheffield Old Town Hall campaign, will speak on the aspirations of the Castlegate Trust.
- Simon Ogden, SCC Head of City Regeneration, will speak on the latest progress of plans for the Castlegate area.
Following this will be a discussion with the audience.
Members/General/Concs. - Free/£5/£2 (annual membership available on the night)
Refreshments from 6pm.
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TINSLEY VIADUCT 50TH ANNIVERSARY
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Very soon now it is the Fiftieth Anniversary of possibly the biggest thing ever made in Sheffield. Officially opened on the 25th March 1968 after three years of construction, the world’s only twin-deck box-girder bridge became the backdrop to the East End of our city.
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At 1033 metres long, 60 metres high, 6 lanes wide and carrying three million vehicles a month, the Tinsley Viaduct has never been celebrated and instead had a chequered, or rather, coned-off speed-restricted history.
Soon after it opened, the collapse of the similarly constructed West Gate Bridge in Melbourne Australia prompted strengthening works including reinforcement of the main box girders and additional diagonal steel box struts. This first round of strengthening limited the use of the viaduct with lane closures until fully reopened in 1980.
But not for long. The introduction of 40-ton trucks in the 1990's meant further reinforcements to the viaduct and adjoining junction bridges.
Then between 2002 and 2005 there was an £82 million upgrade (mostly hidden from view inside the structure). And with lanes reduced from 6 to 4, the slip roads were better able to handle the volume of traffic. The recent introduction of the Smart Motorway has enabled a return to 6 lane functioning.
The box girder construction was chosen for two reasons: because construction methods could avoid closure and disruption to the power station, railways and steelworks lying at the foot of the structure, and, because a combination of humidity and sulphur dioxide pollution from the power station would have badly eroded a conventional concrete bridge.
The bridge has witnessed the departure of the iconic Tinsley Cooling Towers, Hadfields steelworks, the emergence of Meadowhall, and the orange glow of a biomass power station. It may eventually be the backdrop for major art installations including a 25 metre high Steel Man on a hill to the north and some strange chimneys courtesy of Alex Chinneck. In 1984 it formed the backdrop for nuclear Armageddon in the Barry Hines docudrama ‘Threads’.
The Tinsley Viaduct may never exude the antiquity of the Forth Bridge arches or the elegance of the Millau Viaduct or even the Humber Bridge but it is a big 50 not unworthy of note.
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Sheffield Design Awards 2018
The biennial Sheffield Design Awards will return for their 6th edition in 2018.
They will be launched on 10th May at Sheffield Town Hall. More details to be published in due course.
Sponsors are sought to provide financial and ‘in-kind’ assistance for SDA18. Open to all interested parties, although to avoid of conflict of interest they must not be submitting an entry for an award in 2018.
All correspondence should be directed to sheffielddesignawards@gmail.com
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COMMUNITY CHAMPION:
OUR VERY OWN LIZ GODFREY
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The Star and the Moor have teamed up for a year-long campaign to highlight individuals and groups that make Sheffield a better place to live.
Over the course of the year they will pick 2 community champions from each of the parliamentary constituencies. Anyone can nominate a suitable person. The champion will receive a cheque for £250 for their group and a display on the Moor.
The first champion was Tessa Lupton of Friends of Wolfe Road Park who led a campaign to get new play equipment in a park repeatedly targeted by vandals and is continuing to get the facilities and use of the park increased.
The second champion was Liz Godfrey, the original coordinator of Sheffield's Heritage Open Days and a board member of the Sheffield Civic Trust. She was nominated by Joy Bullivant for "her breathtaking enthusiasm and energy in promoting Sheffield up the heritage rating in core cities from almost nowhere!" The event is now organised by a six-person team who work hard to give Sheffield a varied and bigger event each year.
Amanda Philips, the centre manager for The Moor said that HODs is a great way for communities to celebrate, preserve and share their places and ensure they are part of our future. The £250 will be very useful in contributing to the work of the group!
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Sheffield Civic Trust is now officially on Instagram! Come on over and follow us @sheffcivictrust - what better way to stay connected with the Trust than through the images and event information we will be sharing with you in 2018!
Feel free to use the hashtag #sheffcivictrust on your photos when you’re out & about in the city centre and surrounding areas - be sure to tag us at @sheffcivictrust and we’ll re-post the best ones! We look forward to seeing you on there!
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