Longbridge today?
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Discussion

JABB

Original Poster:

3,609 posts

257 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
quotequote all
http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2278#more-2278
Not sure if it is a repost, but I have never seen it.
Interesting reading

Noesph

1,174 posts

170 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
Interesting indeed. Longbridge has been reopened though? some of it anyway, I think some of it was knocked down.

Edited by Noesph on Monday 23 January 00:06

vit4

3,507 posts

191 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
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Nice read; see the photos are 5-6 years old now though. Interesting all the same biggrin

aw51 121565

4,773 posts

254 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
Noesph said:
Interesting indeed. Longbridge has been reopened though? some of it anyway, I think some of it was knocked down.

Edited by Noesph on Monday 23 January 00:06
All but the 'main' site was demolished soon - within a couple of years - after "the collapse". I illegally went walkabout around the East Works in April 2006 (I wasn't alone, and there are pics on the 'web - it was a vast abandoned place, and the police were very friendly as one would expect from 2 wPCs dealing with a couple of hundred of us hehe ) but by April 2007 it was gone. The other sites - 3 more? - have also been demolished, and were available for industry to set up (oh, the irony) there when I was last there in 2010.

More recently, the "main site" (behind Q Gate etc) has indeed largely been demolished as well frown .

LHD

17,002 posts

208 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
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aw51 121565 said:
More recently, the "main site" (behind Q Gate etc) has indeed largely been demolished as well frown .
How recently?

I was there last year and it was all still up.

Mr Pies

8,973 posts

208 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
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I went past 3 days ago on my way to get a new tyre. I'm pretty sure most of the building behind Q gate was gone. I'll confirm next time I'm passing.

FunBusMk2

17,911 posts

239 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
Interesting link OP. I've not been past Longbridge for a long time but once went inside for the official dealer launch day of the 25 & 45.

All of a sudden I feel very old having typed that.

ETA: You'd not get me exploring abandoned places like that - climbing old dock cranes which have been unused for 40 years? fk. That.

Edited by FunBusMk2 on Monday 23 January 05:07

cragswinter

21,429 posts

217 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
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Yeah the author comes across as a bit of a twunt doesn't he?

Chicane-UK

3,861 posts

206 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
The Crack Fox said:
Very old story. As interesting as urban exploration is, there's something about this lot that gets up my nose...




Taken from the link...

"I’m not going to pretend i have any real emotions when it comes to the decline in British industry as ultimately it doesn’t effect me. Yes it sucks that people are loosing their jobs and i feel for the effected workers and their families, but as I’m able to go to the shop and buy something for a 60% reduced price as a result of it being manufactured in China, that’s as far as my emotions go."

frown
Total. Moron.

Assuming he is in fact British, is he that stupid that he can't see the continuing decline of our economy aided in no small part by the loss of so much of the industry and manufacturing that we once had? I personally had no real love for Rover and in fact couldn't name a single model I'd even want to own.. but the loss of them, like any of our other home industries, is an enormous loss and will continue to impact us all.

What good is it having 60% cheaper products to buy in the shops, if we haven't got any jobs to earn the money to go and buy them?

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

267 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
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I'm confused. I know the SAI (Chinese) only needed a small corner of the site to assemble MGFs but how many did they actually build?

And does the MG6 exist at all? I never seem to see any recent MGs on the road. Ah yes, here we are,

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/201...

".......the Longbridge firm enjoying its biggest sales month in December 2011 after nearly seven years under Chinese ownership.

"MG Motor UK notched up 111 sales last month, easily its best performance since the reopening of the Birmingham car plant after the collapse of MG Rover in April 2005.

"The pre-Christmas boost for the Shanghai Automotive-owned car firm helped MG Motor increase overall sales for last year by nearly 28 per cent to 360, compared to 282 in 2010."

Sounds as though they're vying with Lotus to see who can sell the fewest cars.

confused_buyer

6,972 posts

202 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
".......the Longbridge firm enjoying its biggest sales month in December 2011 after nearly seven years under Chinese ownership.

"MG Motor UK notched up 111 sales last month, easily its best performance since the reopening of the Birmingham car plant after the collapse of MG Rover in April 2005.
Well, they did a deal with Avis to take 100 of them for a while which account for most of those registrations. Assuming the balance were retail sales and not extra demos being registered etc. they sold 11.

aw51 121565

4,773 posts

254 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
LHD said:
aw51 121565 said:
More recently, the "main site" (behind Q Gate etc) has indeed largely been demolished as well frown .
How recently?

I was there last year and it was all still up.
During the last 3 months? I am sure it's all happened since last Summer anyway, regardless of the number of months I write frown . The Flight Shed is now going (or has gone) I believe (from a few internet fora) - I'm being deliberately vague on the location (I am not really up to speed on Longbridge's former layout tbh) but it's most of the stuff off Lowhill Lane that is going/has gone recently.

LHD

17,002 posts

208 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
aw51 121565 said:
LHD said:
aw51 121565 said:
More recently, the "main site" (behind Q Gate etc) has indeed largely been demolished as well frown .
How recently?

I was there last year and it was all still up.
During the last 3 months? I am sure it's all happened since last Summer anyway, regardless of the number of months I write frown . The Flight Shed is now going (or has gone) I believe (from a few internet fora) - I'm being deliberately vague on the location (I am not really up to speed on Longbridge's former layout tbh) but it's most of the stuff off Lowhill Lane that is going/has gone recently.
I'll have a drive past next time i'm at Castle Bromwich.

KaraK

13,637 posts

230 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
I've not got anything against Urban Exploration even where it is of shall we say questionable legality. But for me this lot crossed the line into good old breaking and entering.

JABB

Original Poster:

3,609 posts

257 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
I am not suggesting their antics are to applaud, but the photos were of interest to me, especially the 7. What was that doing there?
I don't know how old they are, only the factory was shut.
It surprised me so much was going on with so few orders. All those shells presumably scrapped now.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

267 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
JABB said:
the photos were of interest to me, especially the 7. What was that doing there?
Maybe Tony Fernandes is looking to expand and torn between Hethel or Longbridge?

Accelebrate

5,528 posts

236 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
The Caterham is showing as insured on the database thumbup

Chrisw666

22,655 posts

220 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
The Crack Fox said:
Very old story. As interesting as urban exploration is, there's something about this lot that gets up my nose...




Taken from the link...

"I’m not going to pretend i have any real emotions when it comes to the decline in British industry as ultimately it doesn’t effect me. Yes it sucks that people are loosing their jobs and i feel for the effected workers and their families, but as I’m able to go to the shop and buy something for a 60% reduced price as a result of it being manufactured in China, that’s as far as my emotions go."

frown
I'm shocked the author of that is able to spell, I didn't realise people with bubbles instead of brains could function.

Efbe

9,251 posts

187 months

Monday 23rd January 2012
quotequote all
KaraK said:
I've not got anything against Urban Exploration even where it is of shall we say questionable legality. But for me this lot crossed the line into good old breaking and entering.
not really. it was quite easy to get into without any need for force.

this lot pictured were not your usual urbexers though.