Urlay Nook is a village in the County Durham, England. It is part of the Egglescliffe parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees.

Urlay Nook
Elementis factory behind corn fields.
The disused Elementis factory at Urlay Nook
Urlay Nook is located in County Durham
Urlay Nook
Urlay Nook
Location within County Durham
OS grid referenceNZ400146
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTOCKTON-ON-TEES
Postcode districtTS16
PoliceCleveland
FireCleveland
AmbulanceNorth East
List of places
UK
England
County Durham
54°31′34″N 1°22′59″W / 54.526°N 1.383°W / 54.526; -1.383

The village is dominated by the site of the former Elementis chromium chemicals plant and the Admiralty Ecology Site, both of which are owned by Elementis.[1][2][3] In March 2011 work was underway to dismantle the chemicals plant, and by November 2011 the work was nearing completion. Urlay Nook contains the Tactical Training Centre for Durham Constabulary and Cleveland Police.

Allens West

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From the 1940s to the 1990s there was an Ministry of Defence (MOD) base situated at Allens West in Eaglescliffe. After the Second World War the base was Metal Reclamation Unit No 2, and was used to dismantle aircraft that were downed in the north of England.

It then became the Royal Navy Spare Parts Distribution Centre (RNSPDC), and later the Royal Navy Supply Depot (RNSD) Eaglescliffe, until its closure in January 1997 following Front Line First: The Defence Cost Study. The storage and distribution functions were transferred to Portsmouth Naval Base, and the procurement function to MOD's site at Abbey Wood, Bristol.

At its height, the depot employed more than 2,000 staff and had a significant influence on the local economy. This later reduced to around 750 just prior to closure in 1997.[4]

Part of the former MOD site is now the Urlay Nook Admiralty ecology park, the rest of the site was sold to a distribution company in 1997.[4] Aerial photographs show that the site used to have railway sidings and a small runway, though the latter appeared to only be in use as a relief landing ground (RLG) for RAF Thornaby.

A masterplan has been drawn up to build up to 1000 homes, a 5000 m2 care home, 500 m2 of community facilities, and up to 1000 m2 of retail space on the site.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Elementis Chromium: Eaglescliffe Map
  2. ^ "Jobs hit as chemical plant closes". BBC News. 29 April 2009.
  3. ^ Elementis Chromium: HSE/Elementis Ecology Site
  4. ^ a b "Allens West depot once employed 2,000". The Northern Echo. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  5. ^ http://www.planningwam.stockton.gov.uk/WAM133/doc/Drawing-1523310.pdf?extension=.pdf&id=1523310&location=VOLUME1&contentType=application/pdf&pageCount=1[permanent dead link]