Shotton Point - A Legacy in the making

This site has given birth to a number of North Wales and the Northwest industries and innovation yet has laid barren for over 2 decades.

Thanks to the tremendous work of both Enbarr and the trusty Guardians life is starting to be breathed back into this once pulsating centre of the community.

Not only does it hold over 85,000sq foot of buildings that just need that little bit of TLC, it stands as an oasis in this industrial landscape holding back the years and many tales to be told and being hole to many rare and native flora and fauna.

Over the next few years through its renovation our hopes are to create a vibrant and versatile building which encompasses the culture and heart of the community and creates a place of safety and accessibility for all. This will combine both communities, commercial and start up organisations alongside education and skills to make Deeside the formidable place to be replicated by many in years gone by.

This building will be developed by the community, for the community which celebrates all its people, and the journey it has been on over its 125 years.

We will capture stories, and listen and celebrate them all the Good, the bad and the ugly, as all together they have made Deeside the resilient yet hardworking place that needs to be respected and understood.

This will also involve creating over 200,000 sq ft of public realm with gardens, social and creative outdoor spaces, opening the historic site to the public for the first time in years to celebrate their culture and lives, and placing nature and the environment at the heart of everything we do.

Through this learning and renovation, we hope to raise some important issues that the way forwards in life is not to rip things down and replace, its to nurture them and rebuild them to create a better tomorrow.

We are losing valuable flood plains and forests due to the housing shortages when there are old halls, churches and buildings standing abandoned that could be renovated for those in need utilising technology and modular building support.

We need to repurpose, rebuild and revive, the idea would be to upskill the community on topics such as waste upcycling to include the building fabrics, dealing with plastics, rewilding and tree planting, and eco-housing, whilst looking at rain water harvests and SUDs which can provide our grey water for waste and will be built on the site and then could be rolled out to the wider community to save not just on money but the environment.

Not everyone thrives and learns in the classroom, and we must embrace this research opportunity to allow those with practical abilities the experience to learn and flourish as did their generations before them, by passing down skills through the decades.

This project will not only support social growth and wellbeing but could transform the area into the "newest, coolest, and greenest" oasis lying within the industrial landscape of the-region.?

"We’re going to create something very special here – celebrating the rich industrial heritage of the steelworks, with sensitive restoration and opening the site up with great community places to hang out with lush gardens and social spaces. We plan to pack the calendar with as many of the best cultural and foodie experiences we can!?

"The reality is that this stunning building, parts of which date back as far as the late 1800s, was at risk of being lost forever, before the community decided to take back there Future and Culture.

It’s brilliant that, thanks to Enbarr and the fabulous Guardians and the regions communities support, we can not only save the John Summers Clocktower, but make it one of the main storylines in North Wales next exciting chapter of discovery."

-?????????In the words of the great Muhamad ALI – If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not Big Enough.