Barrington cement factory chimney demolished

Earlier today the iconic Barrington chimney was demolished as part of a series of works that will see the former Cemex cement works site transformed into a new community by leading housebuilder Redrow.

Demolition contractors Erith carried out the controlled detonation in the South Cambridgeshire village of Barrington, with the 56m high chimney coming down at 9am on Thursday 20th December.

Redrow is seeking to deliver up to 220 new homes on the former industrial land and has lodged a reserved matters application with South Cambridgeshire District Council. The homes will be set within areas of public open space and include new parkland and pedestrian and cycle routes to Barrington village and Foxton station. Two-thirds of the site will be dedicated to formal and informal landscaping, opening up the site to Barrington residents for the first time. Demolition works will continue into 2019, with Redrow’s application due to be determined early in the New Year.

Chris Gatland, Head of Planning at Redrow Eastern, commented, “The demolition of the cement factory chimney today was an important milestone in bringing the site back into positive use. The site has been vacant for a number of years and presents a rare opportunity within South Cambridgeshire to restore previously developed land for future generations. We have worked closely with the local community and our partners to develop proposals that are sensitive to the surrounding village and also provide existing residents with the opportunity to access the site through a series of pedestrian and cycle routes.”

Andy Dyson, Industrial Demolition Manager at Erith, commented, “Demolitions of this scale take careful strategic planning and we are pleased that everything went seamlessly this morning. It has been fantastic to be onsite co-ordinating the chimney demolition and wider programme of works with such a great team.”

Local resident Kevin Stigwood pictured won the Friend of Barrington School raffle to push the demolition button.



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