The Bossons Factory |
The Bossons Factory was located in Congleton, England and was affectionately know as 'Brook Mills'. It was eventually closed in 6th Dec 1996 apparently with full order books. The factory then remained empty and effectively derelict until March 2004 when a 10 million pound refurbishment contract was started to convert the building into 61no Apartments, Offices, Restaurant and Bar with Parking and Landscaping. The top floor included a raised glass penthouse roof and garden terraces.
Planning applications for this scheme were initially submitted inn November 2001 but because of planning difficulties and the building being 'Listed' it took until March 2004 to actually get this job on site. The scheme included the demolition of the old Fire Station.
Site Plan of the Bossons Factory (double Click on picture to enlarge) |
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Photographs taken September 2002.
JOBS HOPE DESPITE FACTORY CLOSUREFrom the Guardian Series, first published Thursday 12th Dec 1996. FORTY workers were made redundant on Friday when the curtain fell on half a century of ornament making in Congleton. Personal and business issues were cited among the reasons behind the decision to end production at WH Bossons at Brook Mills, Mountbatten Way. Despite the redundancies half of the workforce have found other jobs, while others have retired. In addition the company met staff from the local Training and Enterprise Council and Job Centre to help find new jobs for the remaining workers. "We are a small business, and personal and business reasons came into the decision to cease production,'' said production director Jane Roberts. "In addition the Victorian mill we have operated from for the past 50 years is in need of renovation, and we have never fully occupied the whole of the building.'' The company was not being wound up, she said, and various options for the future were being considered. "We will not be manufacturing anything new, but we have very good archives and we hope to market the existing pieces we have for the collectors society,'' she said. The firm made its workers aware of the situation in September, she added, because their future was one of Bossons' main concerns. "A lot of the workers had been with us for a long time, and we felt it was only fair that if they wanted to look for alternative jobs we would not stand in their way,'' said Mrs Roberts.
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