Wheelz Online

I’m a Sheffield man, born and bred. Over the last few years many aspects of Sheffield have changed dramatically. Starting in 1990 when Meadowhall shopping centre, at the time Europe’s largest shopping mall, landed in the run-down east end of the city, the landscape has changed beyond recognition. The many times when I have been away on business trips or on holiday, the one view which always told me that i was almost home was driving up the M1 motorway past juction 33 and seeing the old cooling towers looming above the motorway in the distance. They are famous; almost every film which is based in Sheffield uses them as a backdrop.

But in the news today comes the terrible story that the owners of the twin towers want to pull them down. They say that unless someone comes forward with over £300,000 then they will be demolished leaving the gateway to Sheffield without a landmark. These are in my opinion an important marker of where in the country you are. Travel from London on the M1, and in Rugby you see the radio masts along side, Nottingham you can see the airport and Sheffield has the cooling towers.

I hope for the sake of Sheffield, that they stay in place.