Malin Bridge Corn Mill ( The State of It )

[mahonia]

Every Friday I pass the Old Corn Mill at Mailin Bridge on my way to my Dad's, every week I see this poor building get more and more vandalized, I hope someone out there will save it as it is a part of Sheffield's history.

 

A good idea would be to use the waterwheel as a generator for electricity:D

 

Heard someting about a group in the Loxley Valley trying to save it?

[RosyRat]

exmrbd, I can tell you where we are at the moment. I am on the Planning Board that considered the application for the restoration of the building. The Council has approved a planning application to turn the Corn Mill into apartments, with some very stringent conditions :

 

This is a listed building and so the design must be in keeping with the original mill and all facades, cornices and stonework must be used.

 

The West & North Planning Board recently rejected a further application to add another storey to the building.

 

Key to the whole refurbishment is the restoration of the waterwheel. The developers have undertaken to completely renovate the wheel and to ensure that it is turned once a month.

 

The area around will be carefully landscaped and the little island in the river will be cleaned and preserved as a wildlife haven. There will be no access to it from the banks or the apartments.

 

We took advice from the Loxley Valley Preservation Society on this application and I am very grateful for their work on this. We are very keen for the work to begin as soon as possible as the building has sadly deteriorated.

 

If you are interested in the detail and the background, check out the planning application via http://www.sheffield.gov.uk o get in touch with the Loxley Valley Preservation Society.

 

Hope this helps.

[Halibut]

Glad to hear something's being done, RosyRat and that the wheel will be restored. Wouldn't it be terrific if they could run the wheel full time for power though?

I don't know enough about the technical details but i wouldn't mind betting you could draw enough power from there to supply the whole developement and maybe sell excess back to the grid.

[RosyRat]

Thanks, Halibut, that's a great idea. At the moment the developers are looking at the cost of the whole project - the waterwheel may have to be brought out of the river for restoration and that appears to have been an unforeseen cost. Once the developers get the finances sorted, I'll certainly ask the planners to consult with them with a view to the use of the wheel to generate power. I'll keep you posted.

[Halibut]

Thanks, Halibut, that's a great idea. At the moment the developers are looking at the cost of the whole project - the waterwheel may have to be brought out of the river for restoration and that appears to have been an unforeseen cost. Once the developers get the finances sorted, I'll certainly ask the planners to consult with them with a view to the use of the wheel to generate power. I'll keep you posted.

 

Cheers, RosyRat, that'd be grand. It just strikes me as being a shame if it was to be restored only to be used once a month as a Sunday afternoon curiosity. It might be worth pointing out to whoever the developers are that a property with it's own hydroelectric power might be a rather fine boost to their green credentials. (Are their any property developers with green credentials?)

[muddycoffee]

Glad to hear something's being done, RosyRat and that the wheel will be restored. Wouldn't it be terrific if they could run the wheel full time for power though?

I don't know enough about the technical details but i wouldn't mind betting you could draw enough power from there to supply the whole developement and maybe sell excess back to the grid.

 

 

The wheel would have to "go like the clappers" to generate electricity. Is there still a dam and a mill race in situ? I would have thought it could be used to provide a small amount of electricity, maybe to run the lights on the site, but certainly not to power heating or washing machines.

[docmel]

Having attended Myers Grove in the mid to late '60's, and passing the Malin Bridge Mill most days eother on foot or bus it deeply saddens me to hear of the state of the Wheel.

 

I remember it when it was lit by spotlamps and in full working order...so i hope the developers can see a way to getting the resoration work done.

 

Does anyone have any pics of the wheel in its current state? - I've no wish to purposely depress myself but i am just curious as to the scale of task

[mahonia]

exmrbd, I can tell you where we are at the moment. I am on the Planning Board that considered the application for the restoration of the building. The Council has approved a planning application to turn the Corn Mill into apartments, with some very stringent conditions :

 

This is a listed building and so the design must be in keeping with the original mill and all facades, cornices and stonework must be used.

 

The West & North Planning Board recently rejected a further application to add another storey to the building.

 

Key to the whole refurbishment is the restoration of the waterwheel. The developers have undertaken to completely renovate the wheel and to ensure that it is turned once a month.

 

The area around will be carefully landscaped and the little island in the river will be cleaned and preserved as a wildlife haven. There will be no access to it from the banks or the apartments.

 

We took advice from the Loxley Valley Preservation Society on this application and I am very grateful for their work on this. We are very keen for the work to begin as soon as possible as the building has sadly deteriorated.

 

If you are interested in the detail and the background, check out the planning application via http://www.sheffield.gov.uk o get in touch with the Loxley Valley Preservation Society.

 

Hope this helps.

 

This is Excellent news and thanks for the info, like other people in this post we are all sad to see the state of the site, like Halibut I agree that the wheel could be used to power electricity for the site.

 

Great News Well Happy Now:hihi:

[docmel]

The wheel would have to "go like the clappers" to generate electricity. Is there still a dam and a mill race in situ? I would have thought it could be used to provide a small amount of electricity, maybe to run the lights on the site, but certainly not to power heating or washing machines.

 

The water wheel the size of Malin Bridge does turn relativly slowly it is true - but the latent power or torque is enormous. Wheels this size used to power the machinery in the early cotton/wool mills withour any problem.

 

With the correct gearing the speed could be sufficient for generating useable energy - some work has already been done on this - take a look at the following link:

 

http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/business/archives/2006/reinventing_the_water_wheel.cfm

[muddycoffee]

The water wheel the size of Malin Bridge does turn relativly slowly it is true - but the latent power or torque is enormous. Wheels this size used to power the machinery in the early cotton/wool mills withour any problem.

 

With the correct gearing the speed could be sufficient for generating useable energy - some work has already been done on this - take a look at the following link:

 

http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/business/archives/2006/reinventing_the_water_wheel.cfm

 

I am not denying that it could be possible to get electricity out of this water wheel, but because it was designed for a different purpose the technical difficulties would prove difficult to surmount. For example, the wheel would have to be connected to a huge flywheel of several tonnes to give a constant torque and speed to any generator. This would take up valuable space on the site in a large plant room. It would be far cheaper and more efficient to use modern hydro electric generators in the watercourse.

 

It is also worth bearing in mind the massive effort required to generate a small amount of electricity. My bet is that turning wheels the old fashioned way in an old mill was very efficient, and if it was converted to electricity, the wheel would only be able to light the workplace not power the electric mills.