Closure and Reuse of The Site
Local government boundary changes meant that the majority of the site was now within the London Borough of Enfield. The necessary outline planning permissions were obtained for site redevelopment; making closure of the site attractive to its new owners.
Closure was announced on 12 August 1987, shortly after privatisation as Royal Ordnance, and the site closed in 1988; the machinery was auctioned off in November 1988. BAe then formed a joint venture with the property company Trafalgar House to redevelop the site.
The majority of the site is now covered by a large housing development called Enfield Island Village.The original machine shop frontage and the older part of the rear structure has been retained and was converted into workshops and retail units by the Enfield Enterprise Agency, making use of European Union (ERDF) funding. The buildings also house the RSAF Interpretation centre which can be viewed by appointment only.
The The Rifles public house originally known as the Royal Small Arms Tavern closed down in 2004 after a large fire damaged the structure. The partially destroyed building is currently standing (2012).
Read more about this topic: Royal Small Arms Factory
Famous quotes containing the word site:
“I am not aware that any man has ever built on the spot which I occupy. Deliver me from a city built on the site of a more ancient city, whose materials are ruins, whose gardens cemeteries. The soil is blanched and accursed there, and before that becomes necessary the earth itself will be destroyed.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)