THE LAST Post has been sounded at a former military site near Greatham as clearance work has begun ahead of a major redevelopment.

The Apple Pie Depot in Longmoor has started to crumble as demolition work begun on Monday, February 19. A logistics park will take its place with permission granted for two huge distribution warehouses on the 15 acre site in 2022.

Amazon is reputedly interested as the units, which cover over 200,000 and 146,000 square feet, are adjacent to the A3 and its links with London and the south coast.

Demolition is expected to take around 14 weeks with asbestos removal, which must be undertaken by hand, taking around half that period.

The work is being carried by Haywood Crushing Demolition with site manager, Ian Rodger, meeting nearby villagers to answer questions and allay any fears over noise or disruption.

He said: “They’ve been told to expect a bit of noise but it will be no more than they’re used to, especially when the Ranges are firing.

“There will be no disruption and all the demolition traffic will be going via the A3.”

Mr Rodger added: “The main concern we’ve got on this site is asbestos because there’s a lot of it.

“There’s also a lot of recycling to do, and a lot of people don’t realise that the demolition industry is one of the biggest recyclers.

“These piles of metal you see here will be sorted through into different piles, because there’s steel and aluminium, for instance, and then recycled.”

While the project looks fairly simple to the untrained eye, it’s not just a case of knocking down walls as the demolition has taken two months to plan.

More information about the Vanguard Logistics Park which will take the Apple Pie Depot’s place can be found at https://equationproperties.com/news/