AHRC-funded Keele University research rethinking post-industrial heritage through creative and community partnership with Urban Wilderness CIC
Decommissioning the Twentieth Century is a cross-site research project led by Keele University — in partnership with arts organisation Urban Wilderness CIC and other academic institutions — investigating how 20th-century industrial and energy infrastructures can be responsibly transformed into heritage for the 21st century.
In the decades after 1945, Britain underwent dramatic phases of technological expansion: energy infrastructure, coal mining, power stations, industrial estates and extraction systems shaped both rural and urban landscapes. As the UK transitions toward a zero-carbon economy, many of these infrastructures are becoming obsolete, redundant or abandoned. The question becomes — what happens next?
Rather than leaving this legacy to dereliction or demolition, the project asks: How can communities be involved from the beginning in deciding what should be remembered, reused or reimagined?
Project Approach & Sites
The project examines multiple sites across the UK, representing different stages of decommissioning and industrial history, including:
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, Stoke-on-Trent – a former deep-mine colliery and nationally important coal-mining site.
Fawley Power Station – a decommissioned oil-fired power station on the south coast.
West Burton Power Station – coal-fired power station near Gainsborough.
By studying a range of sites — from collieries to power stations to rural infrastructure — the project aims to produce inclusive, community-led models of heritage planning, adaptive reuse and environmental and social regeneration.
From Research to Public Conversation
A key outcome is the book Decommissioning the Twentieth Century, which documents case studies and reflects on what happens to industrial landscapes once their original functions cease. It invites readers to consider how decaying or redundant infrastructure can be re-valued — not only as monuments of an industrial past, but as landscapes for memory, creativity and community-driven future use.
The project emphasises that heritage should be shaped by the people who live around these places, not imposed top-down by external stakeholders. It offers a blueprint for heritage-led decommissioning rooted in participation, justice and long-term thinking.
Further Reading – Creative Decommissioning Report
For a detailed account of the creative, community and academic work across sites such as Chatterley Whitfield, West Burton and Fawley, you can read the full project report:
Creative Decommissioning (PDF, 31 May 2022) – by Professor Ceri Morgan and colleagues:
Download Creative Decommissioning report
You may also wish to explore the published book:
Decommissioning the Twentieth Century – Colin Sackett