# Polymer Latex, Bromsgrove, july '12



## prettyvacant71 (Sep 30, 2012)

Hello folks

After seeing NK’s great pics here a few months back i thought I’d try and get around to seeing the big shiny silos and bendy latex stalactites before the factory gets dismantled. So I left Derby early whilst it was still dark hoping to get to the south of Birmingham and down to Bromsgrove just before the sun came up, but when I got there I noticed a bit of a problem. The factory is on a quiet country lane which it is overlooked by some really bored office workers that only seemed to come alive when I walked past and the more I tried to seem insignificant the more they stretched their necks to see what the hell I was up to. Then I noticed sec floating about and to make matters more complicated a couple of vans of workers turned up to start dismantling some of the pipe work. So I thought I was gona have to find something else to do for the day and come back later on hoping that it was much quieter. Luckily this paid off and i managed to get in after the offices had closed and the dismantlers had left, leaving just the security to avoid. The sun was on its way down which gave the silver silos a lovely bluish tint and being one of them moody overcast days without rain the sky was tinged with pinks and blues that reflected on the metalwork. I didn’t have long before the light was gone altogether so i couldn’t fit in as much as i would have liked to but I didn’t know if I’d ever get time to go back again so I’m glad I managed a little mooch about as it has some interesting shapes

Little bit of site info.....

There doesn’t seem to be much information out there about the Latex factory, other than it shut down in March 2009 as a result of weak demand and a poor industry outlook due to the recession. The site has had an important historical past with it having been the location of Europe’s largest salt works, owned by the industrialist John Corbett “the salt king”, before the site was used for the production of Latex. The 22 acre site has now been sold by Yule Catto to One Property Group for £1.9m. A mixed scheme of residential and commercial properties will be developed on the site. The area will require a large amount of remediation due to its industrial past-plans are due to be submitted in late 2012 for its redevelopment. 









One of the many silos which once stored the chemicals for the production of Latex















Conveyer belts wind around the site















If it hadn’t had been so late i may have taken a little dip






















Some of the metal is being removed by hand before the big machines come in with their cutters










































the latex stalactites














longer ones




















































































just put these similar ones in cause i think the lights lovely
















































nite nite then folks! Thanks for loookin in...safe sploorin


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## flyboys90 (Sep 30, 2012)

Superb photography,nice one!


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## Ninja Kitten (Sep 30, 2012)

great to see this one again well done you..


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## Lucky Pants (Oct 1, 2012)

Nice report your patients payed off thanks for sharing .


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## perjury saint (Oct 1, 2012)

*Top notch...*


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## sploradora (Oct 4, 2012)

hehe i love latex! nuts to see where it originally starts from! thanks!


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## SNAKEBITE (Oct 6, 2012)

Thanks for some rubbery shots!


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## UEP-Wales (Oct 6, 2012)

Great stuff there dude! Nice to see it's not smashed up just yet!


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## johno23 (Oct 6, 2012)

Epic industrialness at its best,nicely covered,great photos of the place.

at the bored office workers,dont know whether us explorers get paranoid when we are about to embark on a project,but "it does seem" that people get extra nosey when we approach a site.

Just wondering whether the "van loads of pipe dismantlers" were legitimate though


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## prettyvacant71 (Oct 8, 2012)

johno23 said:


> Epic industrialness at its best,nicely covered,great photos of the place.
> 
> at the bored office workers,dont know whether us explorers get paranoid when we are about to embark on a project,but "it does seem" that people get extra nosey when we approach a site.
> 
> Just wondering whether the "van loads of pipe dismantlers" were legitimate though



yeah i know wot u mean...if the sec don't catch up wiv u the para can

Good point about "legitimate dismantlers"....i remember seeing the sec at harold wood hosp removing sinks and radiators, even their german shepard was lending a hand....i can think of 2 more places where ive seen secca removing bits and they even looked paranoid too


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## Phoenix515 (Sep 12, 2020)

I lived directly opposite it both before and for just over 24 years of my life. My parents moved into the house in January 1985, I was born in March '85 and I moved out of the house in November 2009. My bedroom window overlooked the railway line and the field that somehow hasn't been built in yet. I had a chance to go to the rooftop of one of the buildings, but didn't take it as I was a kid and I was scared, but I spent countless hours waiting for the gas tower to ignite and burn off excess gas? All I know for sure is it was releasing steam 99.9% of the time, but did at times ignite and create a flame in the region of 50 to 60 feet(?) There was a release vent or similar, and pipes running directly along the path of the canal. It was ICI, then Dulux, and Bayer had the warehouse on the other side of the canal. The train line splits in two right as it leaves the perimeter of the line. The left track heads southeast towards Gloucester and Tewkesbury, whereas the right track is what used to serve Stoke Works and links to Worcester and Wales via Droitwich Spa. Travelling in the opposite direction takes you through Bromsgrove, up the Lickey Incline and on to Birmingham. I have seen it all. 

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## Phoenix515 (Sep 12, 2020)

The red dot is approximately where I believe the tower I am referring to was located. The second image is a screenshot showing said tower. The purple circle indicates where my house was. As I said, I overlooked the open field and played in it innumerable times. Saw it flooded after the Hen Brook was overwhelmed by torrential rain. 







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