Tinsley Towers: Plans unveiled for chimney art trail

The Onwards & Upwards artwork could be in place by summer 2019

A mile-long art trail featuring a set of red-brick chimneys up to 30m (98ft) high will replace Sheffield's demolished Tinsley cooling towers.

Artist Alex Chinneck has designed four chimney artworks made up of 100,000 bricks and built around steel cores.

Millions of drivers passed the two concrete towers by the Tinsley viaduct on the M1 before they were destroyed in a controlled explosion in 2008.

Those behind the artwork say it is the region's "largest-ever art commission".

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They are aiming for the project, named Onwards & Upwards, to be completed by summer 2019.

The chimneys will glow, appear to hover, bridge the canal and curve in a knot

One chimney will appear to hover, another will be cracked and illuminated from within, a third design will see two towers meeting above the canal to form an arch and a final chimney will be tied into a knot.

The sculptor behind the plans made a building appear to hover in London's Covent Garden and another in Margate, Kent, seemed to slip towards the ground.

Alex Chinneck wowed crowds in Covent Garden with a "floating building" installation in 2014

Mr Chinneck said: "Tinsley has a proud and important industrial heritage and many chimneys once lined the canal.

"Through a process of architectural re-introduction, sculptural re-imagination and modern manufacturing, we have attempted to create a regionally relevant and nationally significant cultural attraction."

Several Sheffield firms and local illustrators and photographers are involved in the artwork, he added.

Tinsley's landmark cooling towers were demolished in 2008

The artwork is being funded by energy company E.ON, which pledged funding to Sheffield City Council after the Tinsley towers were demolished.

Councillor Mary Lea, cabinet member for culture, parks and leisure at the council, said: "We hope this permanent sculpture will be embraced by the community and enjoyed by people from far and wide."