A toxic wasteland that once housed the largest asbestos factory in the world has become a magnet. Despite the dangers that lie within, to bored teenagers and urban explorers, some local leaders fear its perimeter has become less like Alcatraz and more like a sieve.
The area has been seen as a ‘playground’ for exploration in spite of the hazardous substances once produced on the site. According to experts, asbestos fibres in the ruinous buildings still pose a threat to those who enter what has become known as ‘Rochdale’s Chernobyl’.
The Turner Brothers factory was once the world’s largest asbestos manufacturer. A massive employer in Rochdale before being shut down in the 1990s, it has been abandoned for decades – an eyesore many locals avoid.
Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. And don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.
Youngsters don’t appear to have got the memo, with higher rates of trespassers during school holidays, according to site owner Spodden Park Ltd. They say security was alerted of trespassers more than 100 times during October 2025.
The number of breaches per month is estimated to be between 30 and 60, with intrusions up by 25 per cent during school holidays.
With the Easter holidays in full effect, site owners have issued a warning to parents, urging them to educate their children on the risks they are taking when they break through the fence into the ominous land of desolation.
A spokesperson for Spodden Park said: “We are continuing to clean up the area from fly-tipping. We would urge anyone who witnesses a fly-tipping incident in action, to report this to the local police. This, along with our regular monitoring, will help prevent further incidents.
“Spodden Park has suffered a number of break-in attempts despite the repeated replacement of hardened steel security chains and locks. We are very concerned that people are willing to expose themselves to potential danger, either in the act of vandalism or theft.
“As a result, we have prepared a factsheet on the risks associated with trespassing in abandoned buildings containing asbestos.
“As the Easter holiday approaches, teachers, other school staff, and youth group leaders are welcome to download and print copies to share with the young people they work with. If you are a parent or guardian, we also encourage you to take a look and talk it through with your own children.”
The factsheet described how breathing in asbestos fibres can mean they stay in there for life, potentially leading to asbestosis. Asbestos fibres can also get stuck on clothes and pose a risk to family members who breathe them in later on.
Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring, fibrous minerals that were once widely used in various products due to their resistance to heat, fire, and chemicals. The substance is now known to be a carcinogen, and exposure to asbestos fibres can lead to serious health problems, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Spodden Park Ltd also say there is a risk of collapse both outside and inside the decaying buildings on the Spod Road site. If any injury occurred on the site, it would be difficult for emergency services to reach someone inside the fencing.
The Manchester Evening News/Local Democracy Reporting Service witnessed that first hand last year, as the tall razor wire-topped gates of the site were opened to them for the first time in years, revealing secrets previously hidden to outsiders.
Stepping through the entrance like previous generations did in their thousands, the creaking of the metal roofing succumbing to the autumn wind reiterates how much of a crumbling wreck the place is.
Walking through the path shrouded by a plethora of Japanese knotweed shrubs, there were a number of visible breaches in the fences as well as a smashed up CCTV camera. This was the clearest example of the problem they have with unwanted visitors trudging onto the site.
It is believed many of the risk takers are ‘regulars’.
People known as ‘urban explorers’, who film themselves going into abandoned buildings and dangerous spots, have been frequenting the site. Their videos, shared on YouTube and other social media platforms, showcase the rubble and collapsed interior of the vast industrial complex.
In a bid to stop them, a site team has been out plugging holes in the fences in recent months. The site team has been employing new tactics to prevent further breaches in the future, but they are not ruling out taking some trespassers to court if issues continue.
It is hoped the former Turner Brothers factory won’t stay in this eerie state forever, with plans for a redevelopment on the cards. No concrete plans have been revealed by Spodden Park Ltd, but it is anticipated that housing and some form of park will be part of the proposals.
There have been long periods of uncertainty surrounding the redevelopment of ‘Rochdale’s Chernobyl’. This started back in 2004 when controversial plans to build 650 homes, a children’s daycare centre and a business park on the land, were tabled. Those proposals were eventually thrown out by Rochdale council in 2011.
The next hope of development came through ESG in 2021 – which ended in disappointment. Planning permission was refused after MMC Estates failed to carry out a £500,000 investigation into contamination on the site. A few years later, in 2014, a fire ravaged a section of the factory buildings.
Now Spodden Park Ltd are next in line to put forward their vision, but whether they can succeed where all others have failed is the question that remains unanswered.
