It's been a long time coming this, I've had my eye on this place for years (literally) just waiting for the right time to crack it. Well the time was right this weekend!
After several recces of the site over the last few months, and a close study of the plans we were ready to give it a shot. The origenal plan was to do it in a week or so's time, but Shadow and me decided to stop on our way to Nottingham, as we were driving virtually past it on the way it seemed rude not to - it was well worth it! Just a shame we were pushed for time as the light was fading and we also needed to get back on the road if we wanted to get to shadows house at anything resembling a decent hour so we only spent about an hour on site. I had already explored the tunnel on the site with CaveZombie a few months ago, and the tunnel door which was wide open when we visited is now welded shut, so just as well we grabbed the chance to look at that when we did!
The CEMEX plant at Halling is the last of the cement works on the Medway to close. While the main production plant closed in 2000, a small team has continued to grind clinker (cement in lump form) brought in by road from elsewhere. The clinker grinding operation is now planned to end when CEMEX UK opens a new 1.2 million tonnes per annum grinding and blending facility on the Thames at Tilbury. I believe the tilbury plant came online late in 2008 (or at least it was scheduled to) which makes the facility at Rochester redundant - although when we were looking round the site some of it did look very live still. However a vast majority of it is being cleared by demolition crews.
The plans are, yep you guessed it, houses! 550 of them to be precise. For those who are interested there's more information on the CMEX website. http://www.cemex.co.uk/su/pdf/Cemex_Panels.pdf The developers have had to reduce the number of houses from the origenal 700 they wanted to build to 550 due to local objections. The planing permission was only formerly applied for in September last year as stated in this document for those that like to read these things; http://www.medway.gov.uk/ddc20080903r.pdf so it's going to be a while before development startes properly I think.
Anyway, on with the photos;
1. The plant looms out of the distance
2. As you get closer you realise how massive this place actually is.
3.
4.
5. Inside the buildings, the lights are still on
6.
7. The cement rotory kiln all still in place, just as I hoped!
8.
9. Look up and this sight greets you, pipes, tanks, valves and switches all over the place
10.
11.
13.
14.
15. Underneath the massive rotory kiln
16. Cimmney closer up - it's 375 feet high - took me friggin ages reading a 1974 planning document to find that information. I don't think it's climbable thou, or if it is I don't know where the ladder is!
There's a lot more of this site to see, but we just didn't have the time to do it on this occassion. We saw the main bit thou which was much more complete than I thought it would be given it's been standing for 8 years+ now. There is also a 600 metre long tunnel on site, which used to have a conveyor running through it. The door to this has now been welded shut, but if you want to see my photos from inside it that were taken a month or so back when the door was still open, they're here viewtopic.php?f=12&t=842
Thanks for looking!
Maniac.
After several recces of the site over the last few months, and a close study of the plans we were ready to give it a shot. The origenal plan was to do it in a week or so's time, but Shadow and me decided to stop on our way to Nottingham, as we were driving virtually past it on the way it seemed rude not to - it was well worth it! Just a shame we were pushed for time as the light was fading and we also needed to get back on the road if we wanted to get to shadows house at anything resembling a decent hour so we only spent about an hour on site. I had already explored the tunnel on the site with CaveZombie a few months ago, and the tunnel door which was wide open when we visited is now welded shut, so just as well we grabbed the chance to look at that when we did!
The CEMEX plant at Halling is the last of the cement works on the Medway to close. While the main production plant closed in 2000, a small team has continued to grind clinker (cement in lump form) brought in by road from elsewhere. The clinker grinding operation is now planned to end when CEMEX UK opens a new 1.2 million tonnes per annum grinding and blending facility on the Thames at Tilbury. I believe the tilbury plant came online late in 2008 (or at least it was scheduled to) which makes the facility at Rochester redundant - although when we were looking round the site some of it did look very live still. However a vast majority of it is being cleared by demolition crews.
The plans are, yep you guessed it, houses! 550 of them to be precise. For those who are interested there's more information on the CMEX website. http://www.cemex.co.uk/su/pdf/Cemex_Panels.pdf The developers have had to reduce the number of houses from the origenal 700 they wanted to build to 550 due to local objections. The planing permission was only formerly applied for in September last year as stated in this document for those that like to read these things; http://www.medway.gov.uk/ddc20080903r.pdf so it's going to be a while before development startes properly I think.
Anyway, on with the photos;
1. The plant looms out of the distance
2. As you get closer you realise how massive this place actually is.
3.
4.
5. Inside the buildings, the lights are still on
6.
7. The cement rotory kiln all still in place, just as I hoped!
8.
9. Look up and this sight greets you, pipes, tanks, valves and switches all over the place
10.
11.
13.
14.
15. Underneath the massive rotory kiln
16. Cimmney closer up - it's 375 feet high - took me friggin ages reading a 1974 planning document to find that information. I don't think it's climbable thou, or if it is I don't know where the ladder is!
There's a lot more of this site to see, but we just didn't have the time to do it on this occassion. We saw the main bit thou which was much more complete than I thought it would be given it's been standing for 8 years+ now. There is also a 600 metre long tunnel on site, which used to have a conveyor running through it. The door to this has now been welded shut, but if you want to see my photos from inside it that were taken a month or so back when the door was still open, they're here viewtopic.php?f=12&t=842
Thanks for looking!
Maniac.
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