JCB machines move in as legacy plans move forward
Redevelopment of former JCB Heavy Products factory in Uttoxeter takes another step forwards
THE redevelopment of a former JCB factory site in the centre of Uttoxeter has taken another big leap forwards with work now under way to break up more than 34,000 tonnes of concrete.
The Pinfold Street site was home to manufacturing for almost 140 years, initially for agricultural machinery makers Bamfords Ltd and latterly for JCB Heavy Products, who relocated to a new £40 million facility next to the A50 in Uttoxeter in 2008.
Now a fleet of JCB machines has moved on to the old site to break up the concrete bases upon which the factory stood and to remove the old foundations which are up to 6ft deep. The concrete, which is up to a foot deep in parts, is being removed and recycled for use on site as part of a 12-week contract awarded to Willenhall-based Dismantling & Engineering Services Ltd.
JCB chairman Lord Bamford is taking a personal involvement in the plans for the site and instigated a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) design contest to ensure the redevelopment is of ‘the highest possible standard’ and leaves a legacy for Uttoxeter.
‘The breaking up of the concrete at the site is a big step forward for the redevelopment project as it will pave the way for the creation of a wonderful park for Uttoxeter and for more than 250 very high quality homes,’ he said.
The heavyweight JCB machines tasked with the job are a 36-tonne JS360, a 29-tonne JS290 and two 22-tonne JS220 tracked excavators – all made by JCB Heavy Products. One of the JS220 machines is equipped with a heavy-duty JCB HM1570Q Hammermaster breaker.
Stewart Harper, managing director of Dismantling & Engineering Services, said: ‘There is a huge volume of concrete to be broken up over the next 12 weeks but we don’t anticipate any major challenges with the project by the time it is completed in June. The four JCB excavators we have on site are very powerful and making easy work of the job we have to do.’
Work has also recently started on a new Waitrose store on an adjoining site after JCB sold around two acres of land formerly occupied by JCB Heavy Products to the supermarket. The new 30,000 square foot store will have car parking for 180 vehicles.
London-based McDowell + Benedetti were selected as winners of the RIBA design competition and drew up the plans for the 22-acre site, which include housing, retail and commercial development, as well as realignment of the local brook and the creation of a pond area to encourage a greater diversity of wildlife.
The Bamford family has links with Uttoxeter stretching back nearly 200 years, having started out in business as blacksmiths in the town in the 1820s.
