Northumberland Rd Hole in ground

[PeteM01]

Must admit my main thought was annoyance that they'd parked on the pavement (between the gate to t'hole and the driveway to Goodwin) and were therefore forcing pedestrians to walk in the road.

 

 

I was also annoyed by the parking, nearly walking in front of a cyclist in the road (which is a whole other thread). On reflection, they were probably trying to hide what they were doing from passers-by. As you say, I hope it is nothing too sinister.

[chocki]

I went past there at about 8:55 this morning and two police vans had just pulled up. Hope it's nothing sinister.

 

Must admit my main thought was annoyance that they'd parked on the pavement (between the gate to t'hole and the driveway to Goodwin) and were therefore forcing pedestrians to walk in the road.

 

Did you say anything to them about how they'd parked? I certainly would have

[Guest makapaka]

Did you say anything to them about how they'd parked? I certainly would have

 

Maybe they were on important police business and weren’t overly concerned with slightly inconvenienced pedestrians at that time.

[PeteM01]

The vegetation has now been largely cleared from this site. There was a police car standing by, so it is still not clear if the clearance is commercial or is a search for evidence.

 

Edit: Gossip has it that the police activity was for the removal of a rough sleeper form the site before clearance.

 

I have not found any new planning applications for the site, so it is unclear what is happening at this site now.

Edited August 24, 2018 by PeteM01

[florence kat]

I passed the site on Thursday 23 August and the worker at the entrance was having a hard task answering the questions of passers-by, because all he knew was that his firm had a contract to clear the site, and he knew nothing more. That site has been an amazing example of how rapidly nature can take over completely.

[John_S6]

I've been off work for a week and walked past there this morning - wow, what a transformation! I wonder if they're actually going to do anything with the hole this time though...

[PeteM01]

Rumour has it that the site was cleared due to a rat infestation!

[redruby]

Does anyone know anything about the history of this land and who owns it? I heard something about it being a glass factory once. I've no idea why there's such a massive hole there now though. I've also heard that the hole has caused subsistence problems for nearby houses.

[smithy266]

Not a glass factory: Laboratories: The British Glass Industry Research Association. The labs moved to Chapeltown some years ago.

[PeteM01]

Does anyone know anything about the history of this land and who owns it? I heard something about it being a glass factory once. I've no idea why there's such a massive hole there now though. I've also heard that the hole has caused subsistence problems for nearby houses.

 

 

Merlin Estates dug the 'ole but then went bust before they actually built anything. The hole was for car parking for a new block of flats.

 

 

 

I am not sure, but I think 'Prince' Naseem sold it to Merlin and then bought it back after the bankruptcy. I have seen him looking into it on a couple of occasions in the last few years.