Ditherington Flax Mill secures initial Heritage Lottery Fund support

The bid was submitted by a partnership including Shropshire Council, English Heritage and the Friends of the Flax Mill Maltings in November 2011.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has today announced that the bid has secured a ‘first-round pass’, and that development funding of £465,300 has been awarded. This funding is to be used to develop more detailed plans for the regeneration of the Flax Mill Maltings before a second round bid is submitted within the next 18 months in the hope of securing a further £11,686,000 of funding.

If secured, this funding would be put towards the first phase of the redevelopment of the site, which aims to restore and bring back into use some of the main historic buildings on the site – including the Main Mill, the Kiln, the Dye and Stove House and the Office and Stables. The site would be opened up to allow people to visit and learn about its long and interesting history, and space would be provided for business and commercial use.

Built in 1797 the Ditherington Flax Mill Maltings is the oldest surviving cast-iron framed building in the world and is the forerunner of the modern skyscraper. Despite its global importance, the mill had been lying empty since 1987 and had fallen into a state of dangerous neglect and decay. In 2005 English Heritage acquired the derelict buildings, to halt this decline, and since then emergency repairs have ensured the buildings are secure, wind and weather- tight.

Councillor Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, said:

“This is fantastic news and means that we have cleared the first hurdle in our bid for the funding that would enable us to make a start on bringing this extraordinary site back to life, and into a third century of productive use. The application was in competition with other projects, and we were the only bid in the West Midlands to secure a first round pass, which is great news for Shropshire and a welcome endorsement of our outline proposals. “

Alan Mosley, Shropshire Councillor for Castlefields and Ditherington and Chair of the Friends of the Flax Mill Maltings said:

“This is tremendous news and we are proud of the role we have played in making it happen. We now have the money to develop our capacity so that we can do even more in providing restoration, access, community involvement, learning and a whole range of activities which will bring these wonderful buildings to life again. We also look forward to taking a leading role in ensuring success in the next phase which will truly protect the heritage and rejuvenate the area. Many thanks go to all the volunteers and others whose enthusiasm and efforts have achieved so much.”