Aerial photo offers new view of wartime Featherstone factory
It has been earmarked for a major industrial development which would create more than 2,000 jobs – and possibly bring about a controversial new link road.
But this stunning aerial photograph offers a new view of the derelict Royal Ordnance Factory in Featherstone in its current glory.
Royal Ordnance Factories was the name for the Government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War.
The site at Featherstone was known as filling factory No. 17. Covering more than 158 acres, the factory specialised in filling weapons such as bombs, shells, smoke and cartridges.
It served a major role in the war but has remained derelict ever since. BAE Systems took it over but later sold off 32 acres to the HMP service which constructed the cluster of prisons in the area. More than a dozen buildings remain.
Now Staffordshire County Council has earmarked the plot for a major industrial zone with the potential to create in the region of 2,500 jobs.
The location of the site has been touted due to its links to major roads, in particular the M54.
But the authority has declared highways in the area will require substantial improvement to make the new development more accessible with more heavy goods vehicles travelling to and from the area once building is completed.
Nine options were put out to public consultation ranging from merely improving existing junctions to developing a new link road from Cat and Kitten Lane to the A460 Cannock Road which would cost £15 million.
Featherstone councillor on South Staffordshire Council, Bob Cope, said he was wary of the plot's eastern boundary erring onto the village.
He said: "It is all about which route who choose to get access to it. We don't feel we can absorb much traffic on the A460 so we think it should come off the A449 but that's the most expensive option."
The later proposal has already been touted as the preferred option by developers, however the National Trust has formally objected, arguing it would severely impact on nearby heritage site Moseley Old Hall. The consultation on the proposals ended on February 12. Council bosses are now analysing the responses to make a decision.
