The building of a new Northern Powerhouse is on every journalist's and politician's lips these days. However it will not be the first time the North of England has held power. Parts of Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester were transformed in the Industrial Revolution and they were then a major part of a Northern economic, political and cultural powerhouse. The 19th century became a golden age for the city of Manchester itself. At the time it was even said,' What Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow.' Benjamin Disraeli wrote in his political novel, Coningsby, published in 1844, " Manchester is as great a human exploit as Athens ..."
 
Oldham, Greater Manchester might be again leading by example where others may follow. The demolition of the Hartford Mill, Oldham has begun. Built in 1907 the old cotton mill, a Grade II Listed building had long been neglected. The architect, Frederick Whittaker Dixon was famous for designing many mills in the county of Lancashire. It is described as having, '120,000 spindles and powered by a very impressive 1500 hp Urmson and Thompson engine.' (Chris Allen, Wiki) Lancashire had specialised in textile manufacture and spinning-mills had become a common feature in the area during the Industrial Revolution. However large scale textile production moved to Asia and the mill closed in the 1950s. The Littlewood's mail order company later used the mill as a warehouse but they left in 1990s and it had since been vandalised.
 
The decision has been made and the building will now be dismantled slowly. So what is left of the old mill can be salvaged for a second life. The mill chimney will be taken down by hand from the top down. Industrial chimneys are often blown up or toppled on demolition sites. The old bricks are also often crushed rather than reclaimed for reuse. This is a waste considering the manufacture of ten new bricks is the energy equivalent of a gallon of petrol. Unfortunately wood is also not always reused in demolitions either and is instead recycled, which means mulching, composting and burning wood. Dismantling for reuse can take much more time. This Hartford Mill dismantling and demolition will take about six months.
 
Reuse should always come before recycling. It has such a hugely positive carbon benefit when building materials are reclaimed and then reused. In fact if a much higher percentage of building materials were reclaimed we would also be more likely to achieve the climate change net zero targets. So this news report from the About Manchester blog showing support from Oldham Council for careful dismantling of the old mill is a real 'feel good' story.
 
The brownfield site will then be used for housing. The next question posed could be, have they also considered using any reclaimed bricks and wood from the old mill to build the new houses on the same site?
 
Salvo would argue the reasons why we should reclaim demolished building materials are:
1. It can save energy
2. It can save mineral resources
3. It can save forests
4. It can save architectural history
5. It can provide employment
6. It can reduce construction costs
 
Finally to quote Salvo founder, Thornton Kay:
 
'I have been involved in reclaiming materials for reuse from demolition since the 1970's. In the past twenty years it seems that the volume of material being reclaimed for reuse has been dropping, while recycling has been increasing. Reuse has traditionally been spearheaded by very small businesses. Recycling by very large ones. The reclaimed building material sector is comprised of several hundred small businesses who have no trade representation to lobby and influence government decision making. For example, the recycled wood sector have benefited from government subsidies and grants. As a result the amount of wood being reclaimed for reuse has dropped from 700,000 tonnes a year in 1998 (1998 BigREc Survey) to a much smaller figure now, possibly to as low as 200,000 tonnes. The reclaimed building materials sector has not been helped with any funding or subsidy, pays taxes and rates, and employs many thousands of people in low and high skilled work. As the sources of UK reclaimed building materials dry up, due to greater recycling, the trade has found the need to source from other countries to find materials to supply the healthy UK demand.
 
Plus the embodied energy of the reclaimable materials now being destroyed by recycling is enough to run ten million UK homes a year. But the true picture is worse because it takes a lot of additional energy to recycle the tens of millions of tonnes of materials that were being reclaimed. In effect, we would better off putting all reusable bricks into landfill whole, so that they can be mined and reclaimed in future, rather than crushing them.'
 
Images show Insitu Architectural Salvage based in Manchester, a reclaimed renovation project from Reclaimed Flagstones in Lancashire and reclaimed bricks from Reclaimed World, Cheshire for sale on Salvo the worldwide online architectural salvage marketplace. Insitu, Reclaimed Flagstones Ltd and Reclaimed World are all members of the Salvo Code so buyers can be reassured these dealers follow good practice in buying and selling architectural salvage and reclaimed materials.
 
Find architectural salvage and reclamation dealers in the North of England and worldwide in the Salvo directory by simply clicking the link below.