(Image: Hesley Wood)KKP's study of the 100 acres Hesley Wood site, on behalf of Renaissance South Yorkshire and English Partnerships, provides a detailed appraisal of the potential after use, following restoration, of the former colliery tip site at Chapletown in Sheffield.

KKP, leading a consortia of specialist consultancies covering everything from landscape architecture and remodelling to structural engineers and economists, has produced a proposal that brought together the Land Restoration Trust, British Cycling and a range of other potential users/operators to provide a practical and deliverable solution.

The company was commissioned to produce a detailed feasibility study for a sports park and outdoor recreation facility. This required it to:

• Consider more than 40 different uses ranging from mountain biking to hoverpod racing, from orienteering to go-karting, from teambuilding to wind turbines.
• Produce a compatibility and conflicts matrix to determine use suitability.
• Consult with key players, adjoining land owners and potential site operators.
• Compare a range of similar operations throughout the country.
• Review land requirements, capital development costs and revenue implications.
• Conduct an economic impact assessment for a proposed use mix.
• Propose site management arrangements.
• Recommend the way ahead for site development.

Although the site represents a significant recreational opportunity directly adjacent to a junction on the M1 motorway, its location and that of competing attractions meant that it was unlikely to attract a major capital input from a developer.

Hesley Wood's green belt location, status as ancient woodland, shared boundary with one of the largest scouts' sites in England and the range of concerns that might typically be associated with former mine workings made for a fascinating study that tempered realism with ambition to produce plans that are capable of moving from theory to reality.

This has now been achieved, and detailed proposals have been produced for English Partnerships and Renaissance South Yorkshire. These are to be taken to Board level meetings, with a view to commencing on-site work in 2009.

For an independent view on this case study, please contact Ian Bramley at Renaissance South Yorkshire (Ian.Bramley@Renaissance-SY.com)