Reaching New Heights

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Barnsley seems to be a somewhat under-exploited town in terms of UE. Considering it's industrial history and struggling economy, I'm sure there must be plenty of derps and other stuff for us yet to discover. It was with this theory in mind that myself and Douglas set off for a speculative drive around the "tarn". With modest hopes of finding some sort of old industrial derp, we ended up happening upon an abandoned building of a different nature.

The 'City Reach' apartment building was conceived as a striking new addition to the Barnsley sky line. The 14 storey glass-clad structure would provide a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments overlooking the town centre. The ground level would offer retail opportunities as well as a basement with parking spaces for 27 cars. Construction of the building was contracted to Northfield Construction. The stair core and lift shaft were constructed by UK Slipform to a height of 45m, with the reinforced concrete floors constructed behind it at a pace of 1 floor every 2 weeks. Work stopped in late 2009 when the recession kicked in and a lack of funding means it hasn't started again since. As I suggested earlier the Barnsley UE scene must be pretty slow as this place has stood like this for over 3 years, so I'm surprised it hasn't already had coverage on the forums.

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