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On this page:  Sion Mills BPT - Its Projects - Its Logo - Its Milestones

Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust  

In 1999, Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust, a limited company with charitable status, was formed to assist in the rescue of the Mill buildings and their regeneration for the benefit of the Community.   A Conservation Plan for the Mill and Sion Mills Conservation Area was completed in 2003 and has been accepted by the Planning Authorities. After years of preparation, a major application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £10m, to restore the main listed buildings of Herdmans Mill, was turned down in 2005.   In spite of this, Sion Mills BPT in 2006 completed the restoration of the Mill Chimney at a cost of £163,000 and has now embarked on a £1.3m project to build Workspace Units in the old Maintenance Block of Herdmans Mill (immediately underneath the Mill Chimney).  The Architects are Manor Architects of Moneymore, Co Derry, and the contractors are McAleer & Teague of Dromore, Co Tyrone.  The completion date is March 2009.  It is hoped that the rest of the Mill will eventually be restored and that this initial project will encourage anyone in the north-west who has a redundant old building to do something with it, when they see how attractive the end result is and the inherent added value when old buildings are restored for use.

The Workspace Units will generate an income to enable the Trust to carry on working within the Conservation Area of Sion Mills, wherever we can help make improvements.  The Trust has therefore set up a new Village Heritage sub-Committee (to replace the defunct Consultative Committee) with 10 members of the village community, 2 Trustees and 3 elected Councillors, who are actively working on introducing Tourism into Sion Mills, using the Recreation Club as a Visitors Centre (see News and Events).  The Chairman of the Village Heritage Committee is Mrs Judith Walker. 

Sion Mills BPT also has an important job to do in telling the story of Sion Mills in a way that ensures that the community is aware of their unique heritage in future generations.  This website can help to do this and it is hoped to include online a lot of the extensive archives we have in store at Herdmans Mill, so that they are accessible to the general public.  For any further information on the archives, please contact us through this website.

The Sion Mills Conservation Plan

One of the first steps to be undertaken by a BPT is to produce a Conservation Plan.  This was a task that Sion Mills BPT completed in 2003 for the Mill and the Sion Mills Conservation Area, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund and compiled by Donald Insall Associate Architects of Chester and has been accepted by the local Council, the Planning Authorities and the Environment & Heritage Service NI, who were all involved in writing it.  The Conservation Plan charts the origins, history and development of Sion Mills and lays down conservation guidelines to be followed when any future development is being considered in the village.

 
Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust - LOGO

It was decided, when the Trust was founded, to have the 3 bell towers in Sion Mills in our Logo - and then of course we couldn't leave out the Mill chimney (the Lum) as it is such a landmark and the Sion people born and bred have a soft spot in their hearts for it!   Mike Wylie of Belfast, a friend of the then Chairman, kindly designed and drew the Logo.

The pictures below show (clockwise from top left):

The Italianate stair tower of Herdmans Mill, topped by belfry (built in 1853, architect William Lynn); 
Herdmans Mill Lum (built in 1866, 152 ft high);
The village clock tower on Sion House stables (built 1884, architect William Unsworth);
The Church of the Good Shepherd with its Byzantine style bell tower (built 1909, architect William Unsworth).

        

Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust – MILESTONES 

1999

• Trust founded by Celia Ferguson (nee Herdman) – formally constituted in September (Setting-up of Constitution & necessary legalities donated at cost by Cleaver Fulton Rankin, Solicitors, Belfast)
• His Grace The Duke of Abercorn agreed to be Patron of the Trust
• Produced Brochure (funded by Interreg and Strabane Lifford Development Commission)
• Trustees visited New Lanark and Stanley Mills, Scotland

2000

• Awarded major grant for Workspace Units under CRISP scheme (International Fund for Ireland and Dept of Social Development). Hosted large official function to celebrate.
• Feasibility Study of Mill Project undertaken by Manor Architects, Moneymore (funded by Architectural Heritage Fund, Strabane District Council and Dept of Culture Arts & Leisure)
• Undertook initial Feasibility Study on Alternative Energy water-source Heat Pump (donated by Taylor & Fegan Engineers, Belfast)
• Manifold Trust paid for initial survey of Mill Chimney
• Attended Mills Conference in Sheffield

2001

• Co-hosted (with Strabane Dist Council) 3^rd Island of Ireland Mills Conference.
• Associate Membership of initial 30 members after Open Evening
• Submission to Heritage Lottery Fund of first stage application prepared by Manor Architects and Laurence Manogue. Further work required.
• Awarded grant by Awards for All to equip a redundant office in the old Mill canteen.
• Trustees visited Saltaire, Ancoats and Styal Mills; also New Lanark, Stanley Mills and the Verdant Works, Dundee (those who had missed the previous trip).

2002

• Visit of Trust and Associate Members to Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey
• Trust hosted a Funders Forum in the Council Offices
• HLF Application withdrawn
• New Board of Trustees appointed
• Another trip with new Trustees to Stanley Mills and New Lanark
• Attended Association of Preservation Trusts' conference at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex
• Received Project Planning Grant from Heritage Lottery Fund and Refundable Development Grant from Architectural Heritage Fund
• Went out to tender for Architects, Business Plan and Project Organiser. Appointed Donald Insall Architects of Chester; PricewaterhouseCoopers and Malcolm Crowder OBE, FRICS of Norwich

2003

• Submitted Conservation Plan, Master Plan and Business Plan to Heritage Lottery Fund
• Detailed Chimney survey by Mortons Engineers, Norwich and Baileys Steeplejacks, Bollington, Cheshire (Manifold Trust)
• Conservation Plan accepted by HLF ; more work to be done on others
• Strabane Dist Council funded upgrading of Master Plan; InvestNI the Business Plan.
• Chosen as one of 30 ‘Buildings at Risk’ in the UK to feature on the first series of BBC2’s “Restoration” programme in September
• Permanent Secretaries agreed to Trust having a single point of contact and chose PS of Dept of Environment
• Attended APT Conference at Machynlleth, Wales
• Moved archives found in old Mill store into Trust Office. Trust Director aided by University of Ulster archivist started cataloguing these.

2004

• Set up cross-border partnerships with Convoy Mills (Renewable Energy) and Erne Enterprises, Ballyshannon (Angling tourism)
• Closure of Herdmans Ltd announced in February for May
• Minister Ian Pearson visited the Trust in March and pledged £3.5m matched funding from Government for the regeneration of the Mill
• Series of workshops for Master Plan/Business Plan held at University of Ulster (Magee), Londonderry
• Visit of Rutgers University, New Jersey
• Submitted First stage application to Heritage Lottery Fund
• Completed £25,000 Railway Recreation Area project (New Opportunities Fund Creating Common Ground)

• Application selected to receive €2m grant with Convoy Mills for Renewable Energy project, subject to Economic Appraisal (DETI Interreg)
• Set up several potential partnerships for uses of the regenerated Mill
• Visited Blarney Woollen Mills, Co Cork, and hosted return visit
• Attended APT National Conference – this year held in Belfast
• Received capital funding grant of £50,000 from The Clothworkers Foundation
• British Ministers in Government renegued on pledge to give funding, just before Heritage Lottery Fund November deadline.
• The Leader of each of the 5 main political parties wrote a signed letter saying that if the Assembly was reconvened they would ensure we got the promised £3.5m

2005

• Heritage Lottery Fund rejected first stage application.
• Lost Renewable Energy funding and Fishing Lodge application turned down due to unforthcoming HLF funding.
• 5 Trustees from Board of 9 resigned. New Trustees appointed.
• Decided to go ahead with Workspace Units project (including restoration of Mill Chimney)
• Applied for and were granted £234,000 (Dept of Enterprise Trade & Investment) and £48,000 (Strabane Dist Council) for extra work needed due to dereliction since Workspace units were last costed. The Clothworkers Foundation also kindly agreed we could keep their grant of £50,000 towards the deficit.
• Trustees attended APT NI Seminar.
• Work on restoration of Mill Chimney started in October.

2006

• Steeplejacks working on chimney all year. Topping-out ceremony on 3^rd November.
• Trust working with Herdmans Ltd to secure future of Workspace Units and the old Mill.
• Economic Appraisal and Business Plan for Workspace updated (Strabane Dist Council)
• Found small photo of RMS Titanic and sister ship Olympic in Herdman family album. Sold at auction in aid of the Trust in April by Celia Ferguson for £6,000.
• Celia Ferguson also compiled a book of the history of Sion Mills and the Herdman family which the Trust Office prints and binds and the profits are donated to the Trust.
• Helped with preparation of Planning Application for Workspace Units
• Acted as facilitators for village Christmas Lights

2007

• Planning Application for Workspace submitted
• Meeting of all the funders to co-ordinate the Project
• New website constructed (Strabane Dist Council Voluntary Support Grant)
• Planning permission for Workspace granted in June
• Large shed demolished (with asbestos) and cobbles and flagstones purchased for siteworks - all enabling work for Workspace Units Car Park.  Total cost £48,000 (funding from EU Building Sustainable Prosperity and Strabane District Council)
• Manor Architects of Moneymore appointed officially as Architects for Workspace Project
• Detailed negotiations on Lease from Herdmans Holdings Ltd for Workspace ongoing
• Sub-committee of SMBPT formed - the Village Heritage Committee - to introduce tourism into Sion Mills in partnership with the Recreation Club
• Acted as Facilitators for Sion Mills well-known Christmas Lights

2008  

• Lease negotiations resolved
• Working drawings completed for Workspace
• After due process, Select List of contractors drawn up
• Exhibition of historic photographics and memorabilia of Sion Mills compiled by Trust caused great interest and raised funds to help with  repairs to Church of the Good Shepherd, listed B+
• Tenders, as feared after such a lapse of time and consequent deterioration of Mill buildings to be used for Workspace project, came in at about £300,000 over budget.  With deadlines hanging over us, all the stops were pulled out, and with adjustments to the Bill of Quantities, the Government Depts (DSD & DOE), the International Fund for Ireland and Strabane District Council stepped in to close the funding gap so that the project can proceed immediately.
• McAleer & Teague, Dromore, Co Tyrone, appointed after due process as Contractors for the Workspace project.  On site from mid May for fixed price Contract.  Completion in March 2009.