Park & Paterson ltd
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Park & Paterson ltd. Recycled metal for over 130 years until the company merged with Bernhard Metals in 2003 to become one of the U.Ks biggest Ingot manufacturers. But 12 months later the company went into administration.
The foundry was built in the late 19th century. With storage buildings being added in the 1960s. In 1972 an office block with labrotory was added and named McLaren House.
The foundry occupies 1.9 hectares and also includes two detatched houses at the entrance to the site as well as a weigh bridge.
In March 2007 Morris homes put forward planning permission to transform the foundry and build 99 new residential houses on the land but this never happened.
Due to the fact that the land is so badly contaminated. It has been estimated that costs would run into the millions to decontaminate it. Hence the lack of interest from potential buyers.
Despite this, the site is actually well preserved after 3 years of being empty. We expected a lot worse, there has been vandalism but its not that much and this is only really confined to the foundry section as its the most accessible.
Since the foundry closed it has been pretty much forgotten and left to decay but in June 2007 one of the local kids fell 35 feet from one of the roofs and ended up with a broken shoulder.
With the media coverage the foundry became a target for local vandals who have systematically destroyed the site since.
When we first visited the foundry in early 2007 it was in relativley good condition, since then we have made quite a few visits. Mainly to show other explorers the site. Each time we have returned though the place has got worse and worse.
Our last visit was in mid 2009 and made for a sore sight. McLaren House which used to be the focal point of the foundry is almost completely sealed. A shame really as McLaren was filled with to the brim with paperwork and blue prints.
The Foundry itself has been completely sealed to prevent further damage. As for the future of Park & Paterson I cant really say. But until a buyer is found who is willing to pay the costs of decontaminating the site, which would run into millions of pounds.
The site will no doubt continue to be vandalized, its a shame really as the foundry use to be an interesting and photogenic place.
