The iconic Chance Brothers ‘Glassworks’, which once employed 3500 people in its prime, is holding a special celebration tomorrow to mark 200 years since it first opened.
Held on Saturday October 29th at West Smethwick Park, the Bicentenary Celebrations will aim to raise the cultural and historic profile of former industrial sites and how the Black Country town has played such a prominent role in British engineering and technology.
It will also highlight the Chance Heritage Trust’s plans to transform the derelict site into a new urban village that will unlock over 20,000m2 of development for business, leisure and much-needed housing.
The event, which is the culmination of a community engagement programme funded by the Government’s Community Renewal Fund through the West Midlands Combined Authority, will also mark the success of #MadeinSmethwick.
Visitors are being encouraged to head to the Pavilion and the marquee between 10am and 4pm on the day, where there will be activities for children, heritage and art displays, an interactive display from the Trust’s Lighthouse Mapping Project, dance performances and the chance to take part in an Antiques Roadshow where experts will be on hand to tell you more about your ‘Chance’ memorabilia.
“The gates on Chance Glassworks closed in 1981 and, ever since, the buildings have remained derelict and are fast decaying – we need to find a solution, as it is such a waste of one of the West Midlands’ most historical sites,” explained Mark Davies, Chair of the Chance Heritage Trust.
“It used to be such a vibrant site and played an important part in the Black Country’s industrial heritage. The dream is to create a modern-day urban village that can drive jobs, drive investment and become a tourist destination that we can all be proud of.”
He continued: “The celebration event is a fantastic opportunity to get these messages out to the wider public, as we aim to raise the money needed to turn the vision into reality.
“We want to bring back some of our engagement activities for local communities to enjoy and hold space for people to share memories, forge new connections, and to help shape proposals for the future of important heritage sites in their area.”
Driven by the vision of the Chance Heritage Trust (CHT), the ambitious scheme could bring 2.2 hectares of derelict land and buildings back into use over the next five years, with 500 jobs set to be created if the plans are realised.
The proposed scheme will include a small conference facility, café, retail space, heritage educational centre, cultural and enterprise space and an iconic 30-metre-tall lighthouse – a stunning reminder of the world class work it did in supplying all the glass for the Crystal Palace and specialist lenses to 2000 lighthouses across the world.
Tonia Flannagan, a Director on the Board, concluded: “Smethwick has suffered from a lack of investment and continues to struggle with high unemployment and a lack of skills.
“Bringing the Chance Brothers Glassworks site back to life gives us the perfect opportunity to address some of these issues”.
For further information, please visit: www.changeht.org/events.
