Andy Cunnigham’s pictures of the Allscott beet factory

Bit by bit it falls until all that remains is rubble. It was once one of the most distinctive features on the Shropshire skyline – but now the sugar beet factory at Allscott has vanished.

And the painstaking demolition of the plant has been captured in photographs by Shropshire Star deputy chief photographer Andrew Cunningham. To see his pictures, see our gallery on the following pages.

At the end of 2006, the sugar beet factory at Allscott was in full swing for its final winter campaign – now, the site looks like a moonscape as the last traces of the three huge silos have been reduced to rubble.

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Heavy lorries are taking away the final remains of what was a prominent feature in the county for the last 80 years.

British Sugar closed the factory between Shrewsbury and Telford at the start of 2007 with the loss of 110 jobs.

A huge programme of work to bulldoze the plant and clear the 350-acre site began in September. Demolition of the 165ft high concrete silos, two of which contained 10,000 tonnes of sugar and the third 17,000 tonnes, started on January 19.

After a delay due to high winds, and they have now disappeared.

Andrew, who lives opposite the former factory, has recorded its final two years in a series of pictures.

He said: “Contractors used a big machine with an extending arm at the end of which were a set of jaws which nibbled away at the concrete silos bit by bit. Water was sprayed onto it to keep the dust down. They have a conveyor belt to sort out the big and small bricks and chunks of concrete, and lorries are taking all the rubble away.

“The contractors still have a full team of people working there to clear the land, but the landscape is now completely changed.”

Bosses of British Sugar now have to decide what to do with the site.

Its future came under the spotlight in 2007 at the public inquiry into Telford and Wrekin Council’s Local Development Framework – a blueprint for future development.

British Sugar told the planning inspectors the site had massive development potential. 

The company suggested the brownfield site would be suitable for a “mini-town” in the countryside. 

Up to 800 homes, shops, jobs and a new railway station on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton line, were suggested.

This has been left on the back-burner until borough, regional and national planners consider the issue. 

Further uncertainty has now arisen due to the recession.

Meanwhile, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, backed by Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard, hopes to buy the 17 lagoons and six reed beds, once used in the sugar-making process, near to the River Tern between Isombridge and Withington.  It is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and one of the best Midlands spots for birds.