Friday, September 02, 2011

Allen's West History

Several people made the effort to go to the offices at Allen's West site today to share their knowledge of the history of the site.  Of course the history of its ownership and the outline of what went on there is  documented but there are gaps and for some reason this site seems to have a lot of rumours and half stories surrounding it, perhaps because during and immediately after the 2nd World War there was a degree of secrecy and therefore mystery surrounding it.
The site was used by Lord Nuffield's Ministry of Aircraft Production to recover valuable materials from scrapped (wrecked) aeroplanes.  Needless to say some of the processes probably wouldn't pass modern regulations with respect to the chemicals used and extracted.  As a result many people are convinced that there are parts of the site so contaminated that it can never be lived on.  There are all manner of rumours about what might be buried there - engines, motor bikes and more.  The archaeologists  will no doubt sort the wheat from the chaff before any planning application can be submitted, but I have the feeling that nothing will stop the developers putting in their applications.
The next community consultation will be the serious one - when the proposals are unveiled.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm really looking forward to this development if it is done in the right manner. I do hope they have some affordable housing for first time buyers.