For the best part of a decade the old ironworks in the Foundry Quarter stood behind hoardings, a byword for stalled ambition. This month the first tenants collected their keys.
The developer has divided the main shed into small, low-cost workshop units aimed at makers priced out of the high street: a bookbinder, a bicycle repairer, two furniture restorers, and a ceramics studio among them. Rents are pitched below the town-centre average, with short leases meant to lower the risk for new traders.
Why the model matters here
Kelverton has lost independent trade steadily since the retail parks opened on the ring road. The Foundry approach, workshops rather than shops, bets that people will travel to watch things being made and mended.
- Ten units are let, with a further fourteen due to open by spring.
- The site keeps its original crane gantry, now a listed feature.
- A shared yard will host a Saturday makers’ market from October.
Whether the quarter becomes a destination or another good idea that fades will depend on footfall through the winter. For now, the lights are on in a building that was dark for years.
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Further reading: Urban regeneration
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