The asbestos factory that has loomed on the outskirts of Rochdale has been abandoned for years. The dilapidated buildings have been an eyesore for locals since the Turner Brothers site shut down in the 1990s.
What was once the world’s largest asbestos manufacturer has since fallen into further decay and become somewhat of a magnet for fly-tipping. Upon recent visits to the site infamously known as Rochdale’s Chernobyl, sofas, washing machines and many other large household waste items have been seen strewn along the perimeter.
Illegal waste dumping, as well as break-ins, have been a major problem that the site owners Spodden Park Ltd have been dealing with since taking over the abandoned 75 acre site.
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When the Manchester Evening News circumnavigated the massive fenceline of the asbestos factory last year, dodging dumped waste was a requirement of the job. With improved CCTV and increased patrols, it is expected to become harder for fly-tippers to go about their criminality undetected.
The site owners are looking to transform the area after making the sudden announcement in the first half of 2025. Desire to transform the area off Spod Road is palpable amongst locals who know its history.
Waste dumped at the foot of Rochdale’s former Turner Brothers factory(Image: LDRS)
In the many years that have passed since its closure a number of redevelopment plans have come and gone, including a 650-home estate – but nothing has ever come to fruition. Sources from within Rochdale Council believe the future redevelopment would include hundreds of new houses as well as some form of green space. However, Spodden Park have remained tight-lipped on what their actual proposals would look like.
As news on what a redevelopment could look like is yet to be revealed, Spodden Park still has to deal with the day-to-day issues owning a decaying ruin like this. They are taking action to remove the fly-tipping waste where possible, but they have hit out with a warning to stop this repeated illegal dumping.
Waste dumped at the foot of Rochdale’s former Turner Brothers factory(Image: LDRS)
The latest update from Spodden Park read: “We are aware that illegal flying tipping has continued around the vicinity of the site, including the steps which are outside of our land boundary. We are actively managing this to clean up the area.
“This amount of unlawful waste disposal is not only unpleasant for the people who live, work and travel through the area, but it can also have a harmful effect on local wildlife. 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 us to stop the fly tipping altogether.”
Action taken to remove fly-tipping outside Rochdale’s former Turner Brothers factory(Image: Spodden Park)
The team at Spodden Park went on to highlight their Japanese Knotweed eradication programme has now been completed, but will be monitored. They also continue to deal with unwanted visitors on the site.
According to Spodden Park, 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.
The grounds inside the abandoned site of the former Turner Brothers Asbestos factory, dubbed Rochdale’s Chernobyl(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
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 majority of locals wouldn’t dare crossing the fenceline into the site – they’re cursed with knowledge.
The creation of asbestos products began on the site in 1879, and by 1970 the factory was estimated to have an annual output of around 2,250,000 yards of cloth and 5,500,000 miles of yarn – all made from asbestos.
The perimeter of the former Turner Brothers asbestos factory in Rochdale(Image: LDRS)
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.
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 in the coming months.