Henley bags Midland Mill job
The contractor has been appointed by developer CityLife to restore one of Leeds’ oldest surviving textile mills, as part of its 306-apartment Sky Gardens scheme in the city’s South Bank area.
The mill itself is a grade two-listed building on the one-acre brownfield site, which will be refurbished into a three-storey, 22-unit block.
CityLife will also buid a 32-storey apartment block on the plot of land on Water Lane, with two commercial units totalling 4,000 sq ft on the ground floor.
The £72.5m project has received £2.85m of funding from West Yorkshire Combined Authority and more recently £54m of funding from Maslow Capital.
Henley Restoration and Remedials has carried out a 3D photogrammetry survey to assess the extent of the mill’s condition, and can now shape the necessary programme of works needed.
Several elevations will be dismantled and rebuilt, structural reinforcement will be carried out, and damaged stone cills will be replaced, alongside the removal of the asbestos slate roof.
A steel structure made by sister company HZS Stainless Steel will replace the roof, topped with slate covering and integrated solar PV tiles.
It is expected this will generate around 40,000kWh of energy each year, which works out as roughly the same amount of electricity needed to power 16 apartments.
Built in 1793, Midland Mill will also have timber sash and Georgian windows installed, and breathable lime mortar will be used on its brickwork and stone.
Tom Cardoe, managing director of restoration at Henley Construction, said: “This is a flagship heritage project and a major undertaking. Our role isn’t just to preserve the past, it is to structurally future-proof it.”
