Economy
The town has always been a market town, and hence with many trades associated with farming and agriculture.
In 1908 Wiltshire United Dairies built a dairy and creamery in the town. Merged in 1916 to form United Dairies, in 1931 a private siding was opened from Wootton Bassett Junction railway station to allow milk trains to service the plant. Merged into Unigate in 1958, the plant became a key production site for the St Ivel Shape brand yoghurts, before being sold to Danone for £32m. The factory consequently closed in February 2003. The site was sold for £19m in August 2004, and the factory demolished in June 2005. It was redeveloped as the Beaufort Park housing estate.
Read more about this topic: Royal Wootton Bassett
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)
“Everyone is always in favour of general economy and particular expenditure.”
—Anthony, Sir Eden (18971977)
“Even the poor student studies and is taught only political economy, while that economy of living which is synonymous with philosophy is not even sincerely professed in our colleges. The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)