A community reborn
From a shuttered 1853 factory to award-winning brownfield regeneration, the inside story of IPP’ s magical transformation of a UK site
For more than 150 years, the Croda oleochemical works and its predecessors were the economic heartbeat of Bromborough Pool, a village created in the mid-19th century to house employees of Price’ s Patent Candle Company. When the factory closed in 2009, it left behind scars of 160 years of industry, 115 lost jobs and an uncertain future for the surrounding community.
International Process Plants( IPP), the world’ s largest buyer and seller of used and new process plants, saw something different. Where others saw contaminated land, buildingsand decline, IPP saw an opportunity to prove that industry can write a second chapter— one rooted in sustainability, community renewal and the circular economy.
Today, that vision is reality. The final phase of a 30-acre( 12-hectare) mixed-use redevelopment is under way, delivering new homes, public spaces and jobs. What began as a derelict site now stands as a model of how industrial land can be reborn.
A legacy of industry and community
The Bromborough site dates to 1853, when Price’ s built a‘ garden village’ alongside its factory— cottages, green space, a school and hall— pioneering a social welfare model still recognized in today’ s conservation area. Over time, candle production gave way to oleochemicals under Croda International.
When Croda shuttered the factory in 2009, the community lost 115 jobs plus additional jobs in the surrounding economy and was left with a sprawling industrial footprint, including a historical landmark clock tower( left). Through affiliate Dibbin Estates & Equipment, IPP acquired the site in 2010 and set out to redeploy, globally, the usable assets, remediate the land, demolish the plant and invent its future.
At the heart of IPP’ s approach is redeployment: moving industrial assets into new service rather than sending them to scrap.
“ Redeployment is more than cost savings,” says Ron Gale, president of IPP.“ It’ s a cornerstone of the circular economy. By moving equipment into new service, we prevent waste, conserve resources and extend the useful life of complex industrial systems.”
This global redeployment offset demolition costs and enabled the transformation of Bromborough into a neighborhood again. Working with architects Ainsley Gommon and local contractors, IPP advanced an ambitious plan for the site.
Environmental restoration as foundation
Redeveloping a site with 160 years of industrial use required care. IPP commissioned remediation, asbestos removal and river restoration. The River Dibbin was rerouted and
44 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981