Mystery as old mill collapses

COLLAPSE riddle . . . Carr Hill mill in Mossley

THIS is all that is left of Mossley’s historic Carr Hill mill — following the inexplicable collapse after a huge section of the towering structure.

Four local families living nearby were evacuated as a corner of the four-storey former industrial powerhouse in Manchester Road came crashing down late on Saturday night.

Residents reported hearing a loud whooshing sound like a heavy goods train as the building crumbled.

Firemen were on the scene within minutes and initially feared there were people inside — a light had been on in the building. Search and rescue teams found no-one.

Police and building specialists stayed at the site all night and yesterday, taping off the area, lowering parts of the building near the site of the collapse and securing the River Tame footpath, which runs alongside.

Shocked locals gathered outside the stricken mill yesterday as specialist teams attempted to piece together what had happened.

It is understood that the mill was recently sold to a private developer with a view to being turned into luxury apartments. Locals believed the building was currently being used for furniture storage.

Firemen ruled out an explosion, but residents believed the roof has been designed to collect water — and that the building could have collapsed under the weight of recent heavy rain.

Carr Hill was built as a cotton mill by Nathaniel Buckley and Sons in 1820.

Local resident Andrew Hay said “I heard a really loud noise like thunder and didn’t think much of it until I got a text from my brother who lives on the street, telling me what happened. I heard the building collapsed once before, on Christmas Day in 1900, and was then rebuilt.”

The future of the mill is as yet unknown and a decision on whether to flatten it will be made once the emergency building officer has compiled his report.