| Wrexham Industrial Estate | |
Redwither Tower, largest office building on the estate |
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| Facts and Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Wrexham, Wales |
| Owner | Welsh Assembly Government |
| No. of tenants | 300 [1] |
| No. of workers | 7000 [2] |
| Size | 550 hectares |
| Website | www.wrexhamindustrialestate.co.uk |
Wrexham Industrial Estate is an industrial estate in the north of Wales, situated in the county of Wrexham on the eastern outskirts of the town. Originally the site of a Word War II munitions factory, the estate later became known as the Wrexham Trading Estate. It has now grown to cover approximately 550 hectares (1,359 acres) and in geographical terms is the largest in Wales, and second in the UK after Trafford Park in Manchester, and one of the largest industrial estates in Europe. There are around 300 businesses, providing employment for approximately 7000 people.
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The Wrexham Industrial Estate had its origins as an Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Wrexham, during World War II. The site employed 13,000 workers.[3] The factory made cordite, an explosive propellent for shells.[4] The site was chosen for its distance from German bomber bases in Europe while having good rail networks and a rural location that provided a good supply of labour. The complex was spread over a large area to minimise any damage from aerial attack. The main buildings were camouflaged and existing farm buildings were left in situ to help protect the site against reconnaissance. Many of the original buildings can still be seen today and still house smaller businesses on the estate, these can be distinguished from the 1950s buildings by large grids near the roof, essential for ventilation of the buildings.
The Ministry of Works built a large water abstraction and treatment plant at Sesswick on the River Dee, just to supply the plant, which was amalgamated into the Wrexham Water Company (now Dee Valley Water) in 1951.[5]
To connect the site to the national rail network, a large marshalling yard of 10 separate roads, and these connected to the works internal network of rail lines. A passenger platform was built for military usage. All the cordite produced at the plant was taken by these sidings, along the Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway and then to Crewe. For shunting works, locomotives with diesel engines were used instead of steam as they were less likely to ignite any stray cordite, however it is known the works had possession of an 1859 0-4-0ST known as Victory.[6]
The site was well defended, both on the ground and from the air, several Type 22 Pillboxes and Type 24 Pillboxes[7] still remain in the area, found in areas untouched by modern industrial developments, and the entire site was under a mile away from RAF Wrexham, which was home to at least one fighter squadron, for defending the regions industrial assets from bomber attack.
After the war, the need for cordite ceased, and in 1945 the production facilities at Wrexham closed [4]. Much of the buildings were left in place, abandoned, and agriculture again took over the fields surrounding the area.
The large amounts of abandoned ordnance buildings attracted smaller businesses, however, in the 1950s, British Celanese opened a large acetate yarn factory on the site. Other large companies that came to Wrexham in later years were Firestone (closed in the 1970s), Kellogs, JCB, Owens Corning, (closed in 2002),[8] and BICC Cables.
The Welsh Development Agency officially made the area an industrial estate, subsidising businesses to move there in an effort to ensure stability of employment and to counter the effects of the recession Wrexham suffered in the 1960s and 1970s.
By 1990, the British Celanese factory had been sold to Courtalds PLC, who remained here until the sale of the last remaining building, Redwither Tower, to Wrexham Council, who re-opened the building and the surrounding area as Redwither Business Park with several commercial offices in Redwither Tower itself.
The current estate covers some 550 hectares (1,359 acres) of land, with more than 7000 employees in over 300 businesses[9] including Kellogg's and JCB.#
While the separate location of the Estate allows the actual town of Wrexham to be relatively free of large industrial developments, it has also created access problems.[10]. The need for an improved access road was identified 40 years ago and preparatory work eventually started in late 2010 on two new access roads, one to the north and one to the south. The scheme is planned for completion in 2012.[11].
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