Harworth Group’s Autumn/Winter 2025 Roundup at Benthall Grange
August 2025 – Harworth Group commission local chainsaw artist to install feature bench at Benthall Grange
In August, local chainsaw artist Joffrey Watson installed a chainsaw bench on the new public open space at Benthall Grange. The bench was carved with designs which commemorate of the site’s rich history in Britain’s electrical revolution. The 5 pink cooling towers of Ironbridge ‘B’ Station are represented alongside the peregrine falcon which used to nest on the site’s reactor roof, and was rehomed as part of demolition works. The bench also has an original piece of the concrete pink cooling towers caged in iron for visitors to interact with.
Below we have included a photo of Joffrey’s original design drawing as well as the design come to life, and we hope that visitors to the public open space enjoy this tribute!
September 2025 – Pupils from Woodlands Primary and Broseley CofE Primary Visited the Benthall Grange development.
On Wednesday 1st October the Communities team organised and hosted a school trip to our Ironbridge site for Year 5 and 6 pupils from local primary schools Woodlands Primary and Broseley CofE Primary. The trip had various stations around the site for the classes to learn about different elements that go into bringing Harworth Group sites forward and our on-site contractors and consultants delivered talks and engaging activities throughout the visit.
These included Newline Civil Engineering who delivered a talk on road construction using a model cross section of a road, local former Ironbridge power station worker Geoff Barnett who delivered a historical talk to the groups, FPCR who delivered an activity on reptile species found around the site, and Cognition Ltd. who allowed pupils to get up close with the plant machinery. The trip was an immense team effort by all involved and we received some fantastic feedback from the schools involved!
October 2025 – Buildwas Roundabout Improvements
Notice that the published road improvement works to form a new roundabout on the A4169 Buildwas Bank will be postponed whilst the design is finalised and Section 278 Agreement with Shropshire Highways is concluded. The works include construction of a new roundabout at the Much Wenlock Road/Buildwas Bank junction, and the installation of new drainage and street lighting columns, with a new toucan crossing.
We would like to apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused by any temporary traffic measures that had been put in place to facilitate these works, which have since been removed.
We will provide advance notice prior to any these works commencing, which is unlikely to be before the Q3 2026 at the earliest. Further details of the works schedule and any potential disruptions will be published once known.
November 25 – First residents move in at Otter’s Reach!
In November, Harworth Group were delighted to welcome our first residents to Benthall Grange who have recently moved into David Wilson Homes’ Otter Reach development on Phase 1.
We hope that they are delighted with their new riverside living, exploring the woodland walks with we look forward to hearing reports of their first otter sighting!
December 2025 – Christmas has arrived at Benthall Grange
In December, our team at Harworth Group a put up Christmas decorations and a community Christmas tree on the Benthall Grange estate. We hope this brings a bit of festive cheer to residents and visitors and they help get everyone in the Christmas spirit as you’re out and about travelling around the development.
Wishing all residents a cheerful and relaxing festive season from all of us at Harworth Group!
If you have any questions about the above updates or the Benthall Grange development more widely, please email Harworth Group’s dedicated Communities and Placemaking team at benthallgrange@harworthgroup.com.