Why has the flax mill got scaffolding on it?are they at long last going to do something with it.

At last! It's taken long enough. The scaffolding is there because the structure is potentially unstable. The ends of the cast iron beams are set into the solid brick outer walls but rest on timber which has deteriorated over the years. If there is movement downwards at the end of a beam it might snap without warning. The scaffolding is there as a safeguard whilst engineers try to come up with a solution. The beams will have to be propped up inside as well.

I spoke to a senior figure at English Heritage a couple of weeks ago who told me that they were conducting interviews and viewing presentations last week with the shortlisted developers that want to redevelop the flax mill to decide which one to go with, he also said that the main obstacle was still the relocation of the bus depot as Arriva are unhappy about moving to Battlefield. He seemed quite confident that proper work on the site would start later this year though.