REPORT - SPRINGSIDE PAPER MILL - BELMONT - AUGUST 2021 - PART#2

[TheBackpackExplorer]

The History
Springside Paper Mill, where paper was made continuously since 1834 - originally belonging to John Livesey who had previously run paper mills at Prestolee & Springfield. At this time rags & textiles were recycled to make paper; wood pulp was not used in papermaking until about 1910 meaning Livesey's enterprise did not prosper & was closed down in 1839.

The mill was purchased by William Spencer - The mill remained in the Spencer family until 1972, it was then owned by Courtaulds until 1984 - in February 1994 a blaze destroyed a warehouse which contained 200 tons of paper tissue & cotton. The factory closed in the mid-2000s after being owned by the Canadian Tissue company Kruger - Springside Paper Mill shut it doors after over 150 years in operation.

The Explore
My first ever explore came in a very similar factory aged 10 that was situated behind my house & had been made derelict at the time due to a fire - little did I know where it would lead years later or that it even had a name what I was doing. Therefore, I found this explore very enjoyable - it is such a massive site & I made all in all 3 visits roughly 3 hours long each time - it is so easy to miss the labrythn of buildings & certain doors are the only access to most areas due to the collapse of roofs. Access isn’t a massive issue with some good map scouting although the front gate should be avoided as it contains the only newly installed cameras - no on site human security but the abundance of owls & a horny looking deer had me wondering if this was the new ploy of the security sector…

Here is part#2 of the Photo dump...

The Photography..

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Thankyou for reading & enjoy the Decay ​

 

[justhappyretired]

Hard to imagine the place full of workers and noise.

 

[Pastybarm]

I am fascinated by the history and infrastructure of this place, and had a walk around the perimeter fence in the morning. I saw a white car at the top of the site, near the gate, with a CCTV camera on a pole. Is this place still actively secured?

 

[Specter]

Looks like its in worse condition now then when I visited.

Vaguely recall seeing what looked like demo crew about a year ago and some fairly large water moving equipment. Is that still all there?

 

[Pastybarm]

It seems to be in a really bad state, not sure as I am afraid to venture too far around the site alone, and not sure if some of the CCTV is still active, and/or there are sensors. Saw a car parked up there the other day, and also seen signs of guard dogs on the perimeter fencing. It also seems to be a sketchy site as it was a bleach or dye works before, and apparently some areas were off limits to the workers when it was active, so I think it is one to tread carefully, esp alone. Thks for the reply!

 

[Specter]

I went alone to this place. Thought the ceiling was coming down on me at one point as there was a massive noise and bits started falling from the roof... turns out it was just a shed load of pigeons id disturbed apart from that no major issues.

 

[Pastybarm]

don't know if it just me, but chrome browser is loading this page funny, making it hard to see the replies, but I can see yours now Specter. I admit, does make you jump, I keep thinking someone is inside banging about. Thanks for the reply, don't think I will go back until I got a wingman.

 

[wolfism]

You got some decent shots there, well done. For what it's worth, the CCTV is active and shouts at you if you trip the PIR's by walking past it, but the earthmover looks like it has sat there for a few years, and the car parked at the gate likewise. No activity on site when we had a quick look last autumn, YMMV of course.

 

[Pastybarm]

You got some decent shots there, well done. For what it's worth, the CCTV is active and shouts at you if you trip the PIR's by walking past it, but the earthmover looks like it has sat there for a few years, and the car parked at the gate likewise. No activity on site when we had a quick look last autumn, YMMV of course.

Thanks for that info. I only saw the car the last time I went, but I agree the earth mover has been stuck there for years, as it is in youtube vids going back a couple. The tannoy system is working, and then obv electric supply, to the site then? I did read somewhere they monitor the cams from a tablet remotely?

 

[wolfism]

Without going into detail on the open forum … yes it looks like a system that could be remotely monitored - but quite often the tannoy is just a recorded message, and the CCTV footage might be saved somewhere without having live monitoring. Can't recall exactly, but it may have a solar panel on top to power it.

 

[Pastybarm]

will pm you if necessary, having problems loading this page in chrome browser, will keep trying.

 

[Hayman]

Without going into detail on the open forum … yes it looks like a system that could be remotely monitored - but quite often the tannoy is just a recorded message, and the CCTV footage might be saved somewhere without having live monitoring. Can't recall exactly, but it may have a solar panel on top to power it.

"- but quite often the tannoy is just a recorded message,"- that reminds me of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. At one point a message recorded eons ago threatened all manner of dire consequences. A bit like TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.

 

[Pastybarm]

having ongoing issues with loading this page in chrome browser, dunno if it is because of all the images. is there anyway to get a stripped down version of the forum, an alternate url., i cannot see all the posts above this one, so it is making reading and replying quite trying?