TWO years after it finally closed its doors as Watchet’s major employer, the identity of the new owner of the town’s Wansbrough paper mill was this week revealed as a Staffordshire investment company.

Uttoxeter-based Huntley Wood Investments Ltd, who finalised the deal with previous owners D S Smith at the end of November, are now working with a sister company, Euro Demolition and Dismantling Ltd, to demolish and clear the site – a job which is expected to take from 18 months to two years.

Huntley Wood Investments said this week that the company had not yet made firm plans for the site but the Free Press understands that options include light industrial units, and leisure and residential developments.

D S Smith closed down the plant, with the loss of 170 jobs, in December 2015, ending 265 years of paper-making, blaming loss of contracts and increased maintenance costs.

Much of the giant plant’s paper-making equipment, valued at over £1 million, was auctioned in July last year, attracting buyers from Russia, Egypt, India and Kenya.

Euro Demolition and Dismantling started work on the semi-derelict site only days after two massive boilers were removed and transported to a Smith’s paper mill in Kent.

A major demolition contractor since the 1980s, Euro Demolition and Dismantling’s recent projects include dismantling a London brewery, a clothing factory, cold-storage buildings, bridges, bomb shelters and army barracks.

A spokesman said this week: “Clearance work has started on the Watchet site and is likely to take between 18 months and two years as it is a very large site.”

It is understood that the new owners have regularly visited the Watchet site over the past few weeks to check the progress of demolition work.

The company’s land development co-ordinator Kathryn Hartless told the Free Press: “At this current time there are no firm plans in place.

“We will be working with our planning company and various consultants to find out what suitable uses there are for this site.

“We will also be working with assistance and advice from the local authority.

“We will also, at some stage, carry out discussions and consultations with local groups and organisations as well as residents in the area regarding our proposed plans for the site.

“Planning can be a lengthy process, with the relevant surveys to be carried out before a master plan or outline plan of the site can be drawn up and submitted for planning.”