Tales of the Urban Explorer: Melba Products

From what I can gather the former location of Melba Products used to be a plastics factory. This was in 2006 before an unfortunate fire burned the place down.

6,000 traffic cones went up in flames and I’m sure this contributed to the abandonment of the building and the following decay that was going to happen.

Tack Lea Works begin life as a dye works, transitioning at around 1872 to a waste mill involved in the bleaching of cotton waste. The building was used as a bleach work by the mid-1890s and has been modified and expanded extensively in the on almost 200 years since it was established.

A week before our explore I scouted the place out. @goblinknackers was on holiday and I really didn't fancy doing a solo explore.

It's a little father than usual and the wrong way but all indications I found made it look accessible.

Melba Products and Tack Lea Works was very easy to find and view-able from the main road.

There was some bloke kicking about and signs saying ‘Very Dangerous Site’ but I could see an easy way in. I bookmarked it for a visit a week later and left.

One Week Later

We pulled up and parked on the main road and looked at what was Melba Products and Tack Lea Works.

A scramble across some dense woodland brought us to the front of this forlorn looking property. Besides a house with overlooking windows, I felt we were quite safe from busybodies.

The building looks old in one sense and also new with some corrugated iron roofing closer to the front.

Working methodically, we started on the extreme left of the mass of different shaped buildings and noticed nature had really taken over most of the insides.

You can see that this is not an old stone building but something built in the last 40 years.

The roof had held up better than what we were about to see in other parts of the ‘works’.

Despite my thirst, I declined to take a drink from this rust sodden pipe and its brown sludge.

The back areas of Tack Lea works contains brickwork that looks much older and sports an old chimney.

Was Melba Products the company that owned Tack Lea Works?

Finding information about this place is not easy, but this seems to indicate that this is the case.

There was plenty of evidence of old machinery, parts and electric sockets some of it containing heavy rust.

Tempted though I was, neither of us felt it a good idea to climb these steps. Having several rungs missing was not inspiring me much to have a look.

It’s always great when you can find something like this. Approved operators for a saw. There was no sign of the tool anywhere.

Some parts where more overgrown than others. Having little roof doesn't really help stop the vegetation spreading.

Graffiti was prevalent throughout especially in the building on the far right.

Evidence of machinery, any idea what this is or was?

There is electricity here, or could be. This substation building is right next to Tack Lea works and is in obvious working condition. It looks new!

Continuing past the power station we walked around the back of Tack Lea works to the old part of the once was factory. You can see the huge chimney poking out in the distance.

I stuck my head up the chimney but apart from a wall about to collapse on me, there was little to see. It was also very dark, chimneys usually are.

We headed to the front of Melba Products and noticed the sign on the wall; you can barely make out what it says.

Look at the private parking spots for directors and important people at the front of the building.

Before departing we noticed a hole in the wall and went down to investigate. Besides this crock pot and mounds of old junk, we saw little else, but around the corner, we finally saw some evidence of what the company made.

Plastic and lots of it.

Melba Products was not the most exciting place to visit, but it’s not going to be there much longer.

There is a big sign stating new homes are going to be built. It’s just as well we got in there before all this horrible decay is lost forever

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