Portland Works

Randall Street   Sheffield   S2 4SJ   England

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News
Monday, 13th February 2012

HELP US SAVE PORTLAND WORKS

We need £400,000 by June - please invest or donate.

See Share offer page, Donate page

More about us and our vision for the Works

Visit us on 11 March (see Events)

Or email us on 

info@portlandworks.co.uk

Getting better and getting there! - we've just passed the £160,000 mark in share sales, thanks to share applications worth over £10,000  - and a rush of donations (over £1500 donated)since the TV coverage last week.  And we now have over 250 shareholders!

Thank you and please keep it coming in!

Derek Morton

Chair, Portland Works Campaign

Missed us on Heritage Heroes? - We are still on iPlayer Starts at 10 mins, followed by Robin Wood at Edale - don't miss that either!!

Together with the Look North / Calendar spots on 6 February, it's produced a lot of interest - we've had many enquiries from new supporters - we now have 30 new shareholders (250 total) and around £15,000 in new share sales, and over 2000+ hits on the website!  Thank you! 

To see all the press and media links, go to News, for more about the Share Offer, click the tabs on the left.

Find out more on this community-run project.... email info@portlandworks.co.uk

Derek Morton

Chair, Portland Works Committee

21 Feb 2012

News
Saturday, 4th February 2012

Lots of Media coverage!

See NEWS .... TV and local, regional press -  Sheff Telegraph 2 FebYorkshire Post 3 Feb Sheffield Star 3 Feb and Yorkshire Times 4 Feb and Look North (starts 11 min) / Calendar on 6 Feb

PREVIEW "HERITAGE HEROES" Thursday evening 6.30 BBC2

The current edition (no 47) of free arts magazine NowThen has a great article about Sheffield Coops, including ourselves.  Link to it soon, find it in Cafes and arts venues around Sheffield

OUR TARGET IS ANOTHER £100,000 OF SHARE SALES AND DONATIONS - WILL YOU HELP?

BBC have featured us on their website, December 2011 - see it here

Sheffield Star 24 Oct 2011 Sheffield Telegraph letters - 17 Nov 2011

Yorks Post 21 September 2011

Sheffield Telegraph  4 August 2011 and 17 March 2011

BBC Radio Sheffield Interview with Stuart Mitchell and Derek Morton - click to download the podcast - see their website BBC Radio Sheffield about the Share Offer, 16 June 2011 

Newspaper articles... a selection of the best...

Sheffield Star  21 June 2011

Yorkshire Post  16 June 2011

Previous articles in the Yorkshire Post - full page story  Feb 2010 and  Feb 2009

Sheffield Telegraph 17 March 2011 and an excellent article from early days, 28 Jan 2010

and finally... BBC website Portland works in pictures, April 2010

News
Thursday, 2nd February 2012

Share issue to be extended

The share issue has been extended to JUNE 2012. We've reached almost £150,000 in share sales from 200+ investors in six months.  Not enough yet, but our target is achievable WITH YOUR HELP.  We're now in a very constructive negotiation with the owners, and the cash is essential to close the deal.

We need £250,000 in share sales and donations - we have 5 months - the threat remains

This is a unique cooperative venture to buy, restore and operate Portland Works as a social enterprise, supporting traditional and creative enterprises, educational work and Sheffield's heritage. The project is run entirely by volunteers and supported by people like yourself - almost all private individuals who want to see the works survive under community ownership.

If we don't succeed, the Works will be closed down and redeveloped

Will you help us get to our target?  The share issue has been extended to JUNE 2012  - get in touch via info@portlandworks.co.uk 

Derek Morton

Chair, Portland Works Committee

31 January 2012

Quicksand Films have made 'This is Portland Works'  about the Works and tenants

by Matt Risby and Elliot Parker

the link takes you to the Vimeo website to view the film

News
Wednesday, 4th May 2011

Steel City Pulse 7 may

Percussion performance - PICTURES and Video clip featuring massed performers and a spring hammer - unique event, 7 - 7.45 at the Works, put on by 'In the Nursery' as part of the 'Sensoria' festival.

More here, big thanks to Nigel of "In the Nursery" for organising this

News
Thursday, 21st April 2011

Planning Application withdrawn!

Much to our pleasant surprise - see 21 April Sheffield Telegraph - the Planning Officers are recommending REFUSAL at the 3 May Council Meeting.  The application has since been WITHDRAWN altogether!  This is great news and you have all played a big part in the refusal through your letters and emails.

THANKS to all you people who signed the petition, wrote letters, sent emails and generally made a nuisance of yourselves, it's a great big shove forward for the camapign.  NOW we need to get on and raise all that money and buy the Works - you can help there too - see SUPPORT US

Derek Morton 27 April

updated 29 April -

QUOTE from letter from Planning department

"Notice of a withdrawn Planning Application

Proposal:

Partial demolition, refurbishment including extensions and alterations to form 64 apartments and 186 sq. metres of office accommodation (Amended drawings received 01.02.2011)

Location:

Portland Works, Randall Street, Sheffield, S2  4SJ

Applicant:

Portland Co

Thank you for your letter making comments on the above proposal.   

I am writing to inform you that the applicant has withdrawn the application. 

Yours faithfully 
  <\p>

Principal Planning Officer

Development Management Section"

News
Monday, 14th March 2011

Open Days great success

On 6 March and 30 January ten workshops and studios opened up to a full house of over 300 visitors who saw the wealth of skills, talent and creativity that is Portland Works. See photos ... 

Some comments -

"Both myself and my wife were knocked out by the wonders of Portland Works both the architecture and the differing array of crafts / working people you have under one roof" John Scholey

"Just to thank you for the opportunity to see Portland Works on Sunday. It was extremely interesting and very encouraging to see the enthusiasm of all concerned. Your efforts deserve success and I hope the planning application gets thrown out. I will be writing to the Council with my views."

"We really enjoyed our tour of the works yesterday - please pass on our
thanks to the organisers - very impressive. It was good to see you again and I
was totally thrilled by being able to hold the piece of mammoth ivory !
I was shocked that the state of the building in some parts is worse than I
imagined and I hope you get the project of reconstruction off the ground.
there are so many people in there doing a fabulous job"
Dr Joan Unwin

"Great day today congratulations to all the team"
Robin Wood - Heritage Crafts Association

"We had a wonderful time on the tour today...thanks again to you and all the workers and volunteers in the place who gave their time today. Inspiring."
Sally Goldsmith

Stephen Cater, of the University of Sheffield, shared the following glowing endorsement of Portland Works with us:

"At a time when Yorkshire Forward and Sheffield City Council are justifiably proud of the efforts they have made to establish a high technology metalworking cluster on the Advanced Manufacturing Park [AMP] at Orgreave, I am dismayed to find that they may be willing to extinguish an existing, and equally important centre of excellence in metalworking at Portland Works.

I am currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Sheffield, studying the historical role of steel and developing new techniques for processing it. Nowhere else, not even at the university or the AMP, can I find the necessary skills required to help me in my work. I can only find them at Portland Works. I can take metal ingots there, have them indelibly engraved with reference numbers, have the same ingots worked down to strips, and then have those strips made into tools and cutting edges all under the same roof.

I am not the first to use their services: almost a hundred years ago Harry Brearley took his first stainless steel ingots there to have test cutlery manufactured. Does Sheffield really want to throw away such a heritage?"

Stephen Cater, University of Sheffield, Department of Materials Science and Engineering

News
Friday, 9th July 2010

Community Buyout Possibility!

In June, after a day's workshop of tenants and interested parties, hosted by Sheffield University Architecture Department, the Portland Works Steering Group decided to offer to purchase the Works in agreement with the landlord.

An ownership organisation has since been established, as an Industrial Provident Society, to buy, run and renovate the Works.

Look out for more news - we will be seeking loans and donations soon - if you think you can help, go to 'Support Us' or get in touch via info@portlandworks.co.uk

This obviously affects the planning application - but provisionally we are still opposing this. You can still see the planning application on the Sheffield Council site where there are proposals for over 60 tiny bedsit flats - and over a hundred written objections.