PLANS to upgrade and modernise facilities at the Orica munitions factory at Glazebury have been submitted to Warrington Borough Council.
The site, in Wilton Lane, has been an explosives depot since the early part of the 20th century and Orica are believed to be the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial explosives.
Occupying some 63 hectares, the site in the Green Belt and is surrounded by farmland. It is Orica’s main site in the UK.
Because of the nature of the facility, it is essential it is in an isolated position, well away from other property.
The development will involve the demolition of an existing storage building, at the rear of the company’s administration block and construction of a new manual mixing building within a secure compound.
Planning chiefs have been told the depot has been storing explosives for many years without incident and that the new facility will make it even safer.
