strategic approach

Backbarrow Ironworks

Client

Duff & Phelps

Location

Backbarrow, Cumbria

Project Type

Residential

The former Backbarrow Ironworks site in South Lakeland, Cumbria, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a listed entry on the Heritage at Risk Register. Following developer insolvency, the partially complete site required a full rethink. Millson Group, working as part of a team led by global restructuring specialists Duff & Phelps, produced a feasibility study and regeneration plan that improved on the original scheme — redesigning 17 houses into 43 apartments and 5 houses, achieving a 32% increase in developed floor space while reducing construction costs and minimising new build requirements.

Strategic Approach

The site of the former Backbarrow Ironworks in South Lakeland, Cumbria, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and on the Heritage at Risk Register. Following developer insolvency, the site was left partially complete.

Acting as part of a team led by Duff & Phelps, the global corporate restructuring specialists, we created a feasibility study and development plan for a viable regeneration scheme. Our goal was to deliver a project that improved upon the original scheme, providing a greater volume of units, with a more practical approach to access to help reduce construction costs.

Our team reviewed the existing structure and assessed the constraints of the previous scheme. This allowed us to provide a solution which maintained the integrity of the existing party walls, redesigning the 17 houses into 43 apartments and 5 houses.

Results and Effect

Created feasibility study outlining regeneration of site, delivering greater number of units and reduced construction cost.
Reviewed and redesigned existing structure to include more viable units within original properties, with minimal new construction required.
Demolished non-viable units and replaced with parking.
32% increase in developed floor space compared to previous planning consents
20% reduction in non-revenue generating commercial space