Inside Rochdale’s deadly playground with urban explorers caught on camera in toxic asbestos factory

Just north of Rochdale town centre sits an abandoned asbestos factory that was once the world’s largest.

Just north of Rochdale town centre sits an abandoned asbestos factory that was once the world’s largest.

The old Turner Brothers Asbestos factory, off Spod Road, has a long history of industrial use – including the manufacture of asbestos – dating back to the 19th century. Spodden Park once employed thousands in Rochdale, but it hasn’t been in operation since asbestos manufacturing was stopped in the 1990s.

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.

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 fibers can lead to serious health problems, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.

In 2025, the massive 75 acre site, once referred to as ‘Rochdale’s Chernobyl’, is crumbling and is becoming more and more dilapidated.

People known as ‘urban explorers’ who film themselves going into abandoned buildings and dangerous spots have been known to visit the site.

Sharing their experiences on YouTube and other online platforms, they showcase the vast interior and exterior of the buildings. Inside the buildings there is rubble as well as collapsed ceilings and walls.

This has sparked concerns for locals who live near to the industrial site, who believe it could start to pose a risk to health and safety as more of the buildings become exposed to the elements.

Mick Coates lives just a stone’s throw away from the old factory. He has been campaigning to turn the area into a country park for years.

“I’m concerned it’s not being looked after properly,” Mick explained. “There was asbestos on there so it’s a worry.

“The history it has, the danger it poses in the long term could only hit 40 years from now with it being asbestos. It’s buried all over so there is no knowledge about what areas are safe or not locally.

“Safety concerns means we’re against housing there generally. But as the building degrades, asbestos could get exposed.

“A photographer goes taking pics of wildlife down there, we’ve seen people on site who are pinching metal, lighting fires etc.

“We’re coming up to summer where more kids will be there. There are security cameras, but nothing seems to happen, we don’t know where they monitor this from.”

The turbulent history of the site

Mick was among fellow Green Party campaigners opposing the controversial plans to build 650 homes, a children’s daycare centre and a business park on the land, tabled in 2004. The proposals were eventually thrown out by Rochdale council in 2011.

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.

A decade on from the failed redevelopment plan, ESG Trading Limited took control of Spodden Park.

The ‘specialist remediation company’ takeover meant talk over new redevelopment was rife in 2021.

Martin Greenwood, chairman of ESG at the time, promised a ‘safe strategy to decontaminate, demolish and remediate the land’.

Mr Greenwood made a plea for ‘patience’ from residents, but pledged to be 100pc ‘fully transparent’ and honest with people in the area.

Despite expectations, ESG went into liquidation in 2023 – meaning any plan did not come to fruition.

The current owner of the dilapidated site is called Spodden Park Ltd, but there has been radio silence since they took over land for £840,000, according to HM Land Registry.

The lack of knowledge about what is going on has become anxiety-inducing for locals.

“Since the takeover back in 2021 we’ve had all these promises and nothing has happened,” Mick added. “Someone is dealing with the trees and the weeds we can see but nothing major is happening in terms of developments.”

He has repeatedly called on the council to play its part in making sure residents are kept informed of any plans for the site.

Rochdale Council has a dedicated page on their website with the latest updates on Spodden Park. This includes any site investigations, sampling or safety works that have been carried out in the last two decades.

Currently there are no active planning developments in the council’s planning portal.