In 1871 Alfred Nobel chose this site for his British Dynamite Factory because of its remote location and lots of blast obsorbinbg sand to make berms and blast walls. It developed into a 1700 acre site that became the world's largest explosives factory for both civilian and military use. In 1926 Nobel Explosives became part of ICI and in 1998 the site closed. There are £500m plans to make the area safe for redevelopment with housing and new commercial units.
