Bristol's Cheese Lane Shot Tower once among city's 'most polluting' now targeting net zero

A Grade II-listed Bristol office block that was once one of the most polluting buildings in the city is on course to achieve a net-zero target after securing funding to help cut its emissions.

The Cheese Lane Shot Tower, home to charity the Workforce Development Trust, has been a distinctive feature of Bristol’s skyline for decades. The building, near Temple Way, was built as the headquarters of the Sheldon Bush and Patent Shot Company - manufacturers and suppliers of lead shot.

It opened during the late 1960s as a replacement for the original 18th century lead shot tower in Redcliffe. Lead shot was manufactured in Bristol until the 1990s before it was banned due to environmental concerns.

Following Sheldon Bush’s eventual closure, the 142ft tower was empty until it was converted into offices around the turn