By Derek Morton, Chair of Portland Works
Committee
I joined the campaign after meeting tenants Stuart Mitchell and
Andy Cole at the Galvanised Festival works visit in November 2009.
I was impressed with the building and their approach to their work,
and appalled to discover the place was threatened with a planning
application, which had just been resubmitted. The following week I
wrote a letter to the Sheffield Telegraph which was duly printed
and following this met up with Julia Udall (Community Architectural
Researcher at Sharrow Community Forum) and about a dozen of the
tenants at Cafe Euro, just before Christmas.
It was quite an experience - it quickly became clear that there
were precious few legal grounds for opposing the application, given
the Works' dilapidated state as an industrial building, and the
prospect of renovation through its conversion to flats. Our group,
on the other hand, had all grasped that what was proposed at the
Works was destruction of 'living heritage', and something very
special for Sheffield.
The last cutlery works building to be used for manufacturing was
about to become flats.
The question arose 'what do we want?' If the planning
application was turned down, the landlord would seek to raise rents
and, on the evidence of the past, offer very little in return. And
how could we get out of the game of just opposing the flats? What
could the Works become? It was clear that the building needed a lot
of work, how might that be financed?
By the 12 January Julia had organised a public meeting at
Sharrow Community Forum - 'Portland Works Alternative Futures'. The
previous meeting had already raised the possibly of buying out the
Works to secure its future, and a plan was proposed. This covered a
Vision for the future, potential Management and Building
Priorities. We would use this plan to inform all our press and
media and political work over the next few months.
The Steering Group was formed as the main focus for action,
meeting fortnightly. A core group of about 20 people - tenants and
members of the community - led the campaign in a cooperative
spirit.
We undertook an audit of the Works to see who exactly was
working there. It transpired that 35 people were actively using the
Works, in 20 businesses and studios, covering a wide range of metal
and woodworking trades and creative industries. Almost every unit
in the Works was occupied. In fact, far from being under-used and
under-occupied the Works was contributing positively to the local
economy.
We also set up a website to complement the existing blog and
facebook page, as a 'one stop' place which kept the public up to
date and allowed them to contact us. Messages came in from all over
the world.
Meanwhile the arts scene was buzzing around the Works - a major
photography exhibition in Castle Market through February to April
featured the Works and produced a wonderful petition of support,
and Bank Street Arts offered space to the Portland artists to
promote the cause. Offers of help resulted in a set of vibrant
posters of Portland works tenants
What followed was a long and grinding process to get press and
media attention, acknowledgment from the Council that they might be
minded to oppose the planning application, and the gradual
construction of a business plan for purchase, management and
renovation. Up to Easter the main focus was defeating the planning,
after that the planning became less important as delays added up
with the owners.
BBC Calendar, Yorkshire Post, Radio Sheffield and the Sheffield
Telegraph and Star all ran pieces on the Works. Radio 4 'You and
Yours' ran a ten minute piece in May 2011 and we made Sky News.
Several tenants became media stars and we'd reached national
coverage! The Council came 'onside' following a visit by the
Council leader Paul Scriven who recognised its contribution the
Sheffield's history and economy.
During May Andy and Stuart met the landlords and secured an
offer to sell the Works to the group. It was clear that
we'd reached a turning point.
Alan Deadman of Stag Works offered a huge amount of support from
an early stage and offered the good offices of the Little Sheffield
Development Trust, itself formed to (unsuccessfully) buy out Stag
Works some years earlier.
Julia's contacts and hard work with the University led to the
Conference / Workshop on 11 June by the Knowledge Transfer
Partnership. Its intention was to consider how the Portland Works
Campaign groups' priorities for the future were translated into how
the place should be owned and managed. The workshop was also an
opportunity to draw in expertise from throughout the city and make
stakeholders aware of what was important about Portland Works. The
outcome of the day was a decision to form an Industrial Provident
Society (Community Benefit) as the preferred model of purchase. The
steering group became the Portland Works Committee and an offer of
support came in from Cooperative Enterprise Hub to write the formal
business plan.
Portland Works will be a Community Benefit Society. This is an
"Industrial and Provident Society for the benefit of the
community", an organisation a bit like the Cooperative Group, which
is owned by its members, but different in that the benefits will go
to the wider community as well as the members who have
invested.
Nobody wanted the flats. Without our project, they would have
happened. The landlord was giving us a chance to buy the Works.
Here was a real opportuntiy to get something right.
Derek Morton - January 2011