Alton Towers remove "The mills"

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CJH
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Apparently Alton have removed the staff mills based in Leek! What could be the reason?
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Chris 21 Manchester
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MattsDesigns
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Could you elaborate on what that is cause to me
Mill = grinding facility
Leek= vegetable

so basically I'm thinking of a very weird and big vegetable that digests staff members.  :D
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JoshC
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Basically 'The Mills' are accommodation for Alton Towers employees, and they are located in a small town called Leek. They used to be textile mills before being converted a few years ago (hence the name :P) and as of this year they are no longer being run by Towers. You can still stay there but it now has nothing to do with Towers so it may be a bit more expensive. My guess is that it wasn't economically viable for Towers to run them anymore so they gave them up.
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scw55
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I sent an email to AT enquiring about staff accomidation, and the rates given for the Mills was very good. So I am not surprised if they had to relieve ownership due to financial reasons.
I decided not to apply to work at AT in the end because I would have wanted permament work as opposed to seasonal.
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MattsDesigns
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JoshC wrote: Basically 'The Mills' are accommodation for Alton Towers employees, and they are located in a small town called Leek. They used to be textile mills before being converted a few years ago (hence the name :P) and as of this year they are no longer being run by Towers. You can still stay there but it now has nothing to do with Towers so it may be a bit more expensive. My guess is that it wasn't economically viable for Towers to run them anymore so they gave them up.
Thanks for clearing that up Josh, had no idea about these. Sounds a bit of shame....
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Jammydodger
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I heard someone say they were becoming structurally unstable.
But it they're still open out of the Towers control then perhaps that isn't the case?
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Hmv
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Jammydodger wrote: I heard someone say they were becoming structurally unstable.
But it they're still open out of the Towers control then perhaps that isn't the case?
Highly doubt this as there was alot of work done during the conversion and i dare to bet that it is a listed building (maybe the reason AT gave them up) due to upkeep costs.
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Tryst
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Large bodies like AT selling off their accommodation always worries me a bit. My work sold off its on-site accommodation to an investment company who got in a private letting agency and hiked up the rent to the point that none of us can afford to live there. Last time I checked, the houses were all occupied by London commuters and the rest of us are commuting from neighbouring towns.
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code-red
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It's a real shame Towers are no longer offering accommodation for it's employees. I would imagine this will now see a stop to many people (including enthusiasts) from moving to work there now, and often these people who move are the some of the most enthusiastic and passionate for the business.
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CJH
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It's pretty bad considering how many extra staff they are taking on! Good luck housing them towers!
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Chris 21 Manchester
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oliviamae
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It's not really their responsibility to house their employees. If you are applying for a position at AT you should take the risk of not finding appropriate accommodation upon yourself.
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Hmv
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oliviamae wrote: It's not really their responsibility to house their employees. If you are applying for a position at AT you should take the risk of not finding appropriate accommodation upon yourself.
This is very true but many people can simply not afford it, the people who I worked with who lived in the mills were some of the best people at AT. I for one am really hoping that this does not stop them returning.
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PeteB
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Another cold corporate move by Merlin me thinks. Probably along the lines of "screw our staff, if they want to work here they can find their own accommodation".
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12344321
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Towers did not own the Mills, they were owned and managed by an external company.  the understanding I had was that Towers had an agreement with the landlord to allow them to use it, that landlord has now sold up and the new landlord isnt interested in having Towers involved.
Towers were the only Merlon company to provide accomodation anyway, yes the mills were great but you should think about where your going to live before you apply for a job, it isnt Towers responsibility.
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johnbroom
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Just to let you now that the mills in leek where never owned by Alton Towers Resort PLC. They where brought by Stanley Keates Astateagents and made into acondation by them alton towers worked close with the Astateagents now the Astateagents have decided to not continue there contract with Alton Towers Resort PLC and change the mills into private apartments.
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JoshC
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johnbroom wrote: Just to let you now that the mills in leek where never owned by Alton Towers Resort PLC. They where brought by Stanley Keates Astateagents and made into acondation by them alton towers worked close with the Astateagents now the Astateagents have decided to not continue there contract with Alton Towers Resort PLC and change the mills into private apartments.
The Alton Towers Resort is not a Public Limited Company...
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mrspazman
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When we moved out at the end of last year we were told that the owner of the mills had gone bankrupt and had to sell up.


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code-red
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12344321 wrote: Towers were the only Merlon company to provide accomodation anyway, yes the mills were great but you should think about where your going to live before you apply for a job, it isnt Towers responsibility.
Whilst I agree it's not Towers responsibility to find accommodation for employees, I don't think people apply for a job and think 'Oh no, where will I live!?'. The mills have always been listed on the Alton Towers jobs site, explaining they offer accommodation. Removing them will see a significant decrease in the amount of passionate individuals moving to work there, while making it difficult for returning applicants who relied on them to return to their work.
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Jammydodger
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Whilst I do agree, it shouldn't solely be Merlin/Towers' job to house their employees, I think its a fairly unique scenario and definitely justified to be a little shocked they wont be offering accommodation anymore .

Compare Alton to Staines, and the housing situations are completely different. People moving to work at Thorpe can pick up a cheap place to live, and move up there in a matter of days.

Alton is far more remote, with a smaller selection of houses, and generally far higher rent due to its location. Its not unreasonable to expect the Towers to offer some sort of subsidization offer, especially when the majority of its staff are quite young, probably know very little about living away from home,

Although its impact will probably be only minor, I think anyone passionate enough to leave their home town to live and work in a certain job would definitely imply they are capable of doing great things for the towers, and this is just going to put them off.
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CoasterEnthusiast
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With the Mills Gone now for 2013, I am looking for a group of people who will be working at Alton Towers during the 2013 season who are interested in house sharing as a viable means of accommodation.
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