Over the past few months, more and more of the historic Victorian mill buildings between Navigation Walk and the Hepworth have been shrouded in scaffolding and wrapped in protective sheeting. What’s happening inside? Let’s take a quick look…

Tileyard London, the largest creative industries community in Europe, based in London’s Kings Cross, has begun the restoration and build of its second site, Tileyard North – a 135,000 sq ft development including five of the abandoned Victorian Mill buildings, is being prepped for regeneration to put Wakefield on the map as the ‘new creative destination in the North of England.’ The regeneration plan will convert the space into a mixed-use, inclusive, creative and cultural cluster, with a focus on commercial,
community and education.

The regeneration of Rutland Mills forms the next phase in the Wakefield Waterfront masterplan bringing new coherence to the area and contributing to the creative, art and cultural led programme currently curated by The Hepworth Wakefield. Complimenting the renovation of the five most viable Victorian buildings, some of the unsafe buildings on the site are being demolished to make way for new buildings that, between them, will offer creative companies studio, production and office spaces as well as housing a higher education centre, contemporary street food, bars, restaurants, live event spaces and a boutique hotel.

The vision will also deliver a central courtyard/event space, a new route to the River Calder, a riverside pier and increased permeability through the site, better linking and connecting the different elements.

Tileyard North aims to promote creative inclusivity in the North of England. The new site will offer more creative space and opportunities for businesses and individuals to grow and flourish in the North, whilst still retaining a relationship and stake in the London creative scene. The redevelopment is estimated to take 3 years to complete and with an aspiration of creating more than 500 new jobs, transforming the site into a vibrant destination for creative and collaborative partnerships in music, film, TV, design, new media and all facets of the commercial creative sectors.

For more information visit www.tileyardnorth.co.uk

Car parking at Hebble Wharf is limited to one space per apartment, for 49 out of the 58 apartments. For the remaining 9, there is NO on-site parking.

Car Park spaces are leased individually to apartment owners and are not transferable between apartments. Residents are encouraged to mark their space with a notice showing the registration number of your vehicle – but (for security reasons) do not include your apartment number on any notice.

It should be noted that the space inside the entrance (originally designated a disabled person’s parking space) is no longer available as such, as the former owner of Hebble Wharf sold the lease on that bay and it is now privately owned and allocated as Bay 49. The Association has raised concern about the lack of a disabled person’s parking space with the Managing Agents, as this was understood to be a condition of planning approval when the block was built.

Outside of Hebble Wharf, there is no authorised parking for residents or visitors. The space outside the front door of the building is reserved for emergency vehicles, though it is also used for deliveries. Other parking spaces in the development are allocated to individual businesses in the various office buildings, under the control of the Estate owners, Waterfront Wakefield Management Ltd. Unauthorised parking anywhere around Hebble Wharf is likely to result in a parking penalty notice being issued.

Additional car parking for residents and visitors is available in the Waterfront Car Park on Barnsley Road, on the other side of the canal from Hebble Wharf. This is a Pay-and-Display Car Park operated by Wakefield Council, and all-day car parking here costs £2.50. Parking is free after 6pm and all day on Sundays. Parking Bays nearest Hebble Wharf (marked with RED lines) are reserved for contractors and staff at Rutland Mills. All other spaces are available for public use. Note that the footbridge linking to the car park is currently out of use, so pedestrian access is via Barnsley Road.

Wakefield Council offer Parking Permits for Waterfront Car Park for periods of 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. The price of an annual permit (valid Mondays to Saturdays) is £734 – equivalent to around £2.36 a day. Details of permit prices, and how to obtain a permit, can be found here.

Our Managing Agents, Plymouth Block Management now have 100% of staff working from home but can be contacted as usual by telephone or by email as both systems are fully operational and all staff have access to both from home. They are operating their normal working hours of 9:15am – 5:00pm and both the property management team and accounts team are available to engage with you as needed.

Post to their office – which is now officially closed – will be collected on Tuesday and Thursday mornings ONLY – anything to sent to us in the post will likely have a significant delay in being actioned.

The Emergency Out of Hours Service  remains fully operational – it can be accessed outside of working hours by calling 01752 257338 and pressing 0 – PLEASE ensure any calls are for genuine emergencies only such as fire, flood, power outages etc.

Essential safety work such as fire alarm and electrical checks are being carried out as usual by our team.

Contractors are continuing to provide emergency and/or essential services within the buildings. In the event any decide to cease providing services, PBM will seek an alternative until the current crisis is over – fire, health and safety concerns remain a top priority at this difficult time.

Cleaning contractors are under particular pressure and we ask that you assist them by maintaining your distance when they are working in Hebble Wharf – please do everything you can to keep communal areas clean and tidy and avoid any gatherings of more than 2 people at a time in any communal areas and remember to always wash your hands when leaving or entering your apartment.

The cleaning of the lift may be limited due to the enclosed space and high risk of infection – please do all you can to keep the lift clean and tidy and where possible use the stairs.  It is important to prioritise lift access for those who have health needs or disabilities. Lift maintenance companies are still providing emergency support at this time, however we have been advised by several that scheduled routine maintenance where the safety of the lift will not be affect may not proceed until the restrictions on travel have been lifted.

Everything is being done to limit the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the management of Hebble Wharf – we want you all to be able to focus on the things that really matter during this time and not worry about your building.

Lastly, please look after yourselves and your families – please take every precaution when venturing outside of your apartment and interacting with your fellow residents to ensure the risk of infection is kept to a minimum. Hopefully the current measures will ensure a quick and speedy end to pandemic and we can all return to normal as soon as possible.

 

On Thursday 12 February, Wakefield Police responded to a reported incident at an apartment building close to Hebble Wharf, in which two suspects entered the building and proceeded to cause damage to the door and lock of one apartment in an attempt to gain entry to that apartment.  It is believed that the suspects may have been unwittingly let into the building by other residents.

Wakefield Neighbourhood Watch Team has issued this reminder to anyone living in an apartment building:

If you reside in an apartment block, please do not allow people to tailgate you in or buzz anyone in even if you think you know them.

Security at Hebble Wharf is a shared responsibility; please be prepared to meet any visitors at the front door, and ensure that no-one enters the building through the garage door after you have driven in or out.

Any security concerns should be reported to the Neighbourhood Watch Liaison Officer (PCSO Diane Winder) at diane.winder@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

 

Wakefield Waterfront Management Company has recently informed us of some work that will be taking place in the spaces and buildings around Hebble Wharf.

Over the coming 2-3 weeks (subject to final confirmation) the grey site office/cabin at the entrance to Navigation Walk – otherwise known as “The Management Suite” –  will be removed. This is part of the plan to give back this area of land now the first phase of the Councils sale of Rutland Mills, adjacent to the site, has been completed

The services in this cabin are being relocated and while no disruption is expected when work starts, the external CCTV cameras will be temporarily out of order. This is due to having to re-cable and re-locate the system into Waterfront Wakefield’s offices at Spectrum Health.

Moving forward, it will be Waterfront Wakefield Management Company who manage and oversee the CCTV system, ensuring the same legislative control and management of it is in place that they use for their own internal CCTV systems, to ensure compliance with GDPR legislation. That includes who and how data is accessed, images viewed, saved and or copied

There may also be a temporary outage of the street lights on site.

Some may have noticed that recent remedial works were undertaken, replacing spent bulbs, reinstating supply to the wall lights by the lock and replacing the vandalised bollards near the lock end. The remaining street light repair will be completed once the flood barrier has been repaired in the coming months

Further updates on matters relating to the site will be issued once services have been restored after the cabin’s removal.