MOD Shoebury: What goes on at the weapons-testing site?

But in reality the site that encompasses what we know as ‘MOD Shoebury’ is a whole lot bigger.

‘MOD Shoebury’ is the area of Shoebury and Foulness Island first used by the military in 1848 when the British School of Gunnery was opened following the Crimean War.

Until that time, Plumstead Common and Woolwich Common had been used to test out weapons, but these places were no longer viable due to the increasing power and range of the weapons. Somewhere with a much bigger range was needed.

The location near Southend was chosen because of its closeness to London and its direct access to major shipping routes.

• READ MORE: Fire service update as crews fight flames and thick smoke in Shoebury blaze

The Royal Artillery School of Gunnery was established at Shoebury for the ‘individual improvement’ of soldiers as well as for the advancement of artillery science in general.

The area's geographical features such as its flat tidal sands make it perfect for the Ministry of Defence’s test and evaluation requirements- especially when it comes to the need to test out long range weapons.

MOD Shoebury plays a vital role in the country's defence - for example, a section of Downing Street wall was resilience tested at the site in the wake of the 1991 mortar bomb attack in Whitehall.

It is one of only a few places in the world that can allow experts to undertake weapons and equipment tests in such ideal conditions.

So, what goes on there today?

The expansive site is managed by QinetiQ – one of the world’s leading defence technology and security companies on behalf of the Ministry of Defence -and is a place where weapon systems used by the Army, Navy and RAF are thoroughly tested through firing, shaking, rattling, rolling, dropping, heating and freezing equipment and munitions.

It’s also where expired ammunition is disposed of safely and where bomb disposal or Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training techniques are taught during military training courses which recreate realistic scenarios involving live ammunition.

How large is the area?

The vast site stretches from Shoebury for more than 11 miles up to Foulness Island. The site covers over 9,300 acres with another 35,000 acres when the tide goes out (that’s a lot bigger than all the combined resorts of Disneyland in Florida). There is over 60km of road and another 60km of tracks and 21km of railway track. It is home to over 200 private residents living in around 100 homes. The site brings around 300 jobs to the local economy.

What kind of ranges and weapons are tested there?

The site consists of 21 operational firing ranges for ammunitions testing. This is where small, medium and large calibre tube-launched ammunition systems are tested- amongst many other things. There are also climatic test chamber and shock machines.

Quite recently depleted uranium weapons were tested on Foulness Island. Back in history a number of weapons have been tested and refined at MOD Shoebury - including Howitzers in the Great War which were used on the Western Front and a number of guns which went onto be pivotal during the Second World War.

What about Foulness Island?

For years, the Atomic Weapons Establishment was based on Foulness Island, which is part of MOD Shoebury. Throughout the time it was in operation this was always the most secret part of the whole establishment.

It was set up as an adjunct to the main nuclear weapons establishment at Aldermaston at the beginning of the Cold War and dealt with some of the most sensitive parts of Britain’s nuclear and atomic defences. It was the existence of the highly sensitive military establishments at Foulness which was to a large extent responsible for the abandonment of plans for a new airport on the Maplin Sands.

This would have meant the military having to leave the area and was fiercely opposed by the Ministry of Defence.

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The AWE shut up its work some time ago. Foulness Island is now a site of supreme scientific and natural importance and MOD Shoebury has spent a lot of money on improving and maintaining the area. It features inter-tidal mud and sand flats, saltmarsh, beaches, shingle/shell banks, grazing marshes, rough grass and scrubland which make it homes to a number of important bird species. In 2002 the Foulness Conservation & Archaeological Society (FCAS) converted the former Foulness Primary School into the Foulness Heritage Centre.

The visitor attraction holds some of the artefacts relating to rural life on Foulness and has received a constant stream of visitors from both the UK and abroad ever since.

Do people living near the ammunition testing ranges get bothered by noise and vibrations?

The MOD says that from time to time, members of the public express concern that vibration resulting from activity at the site is causing damage to their property and so they conduct regular, independent surveys to assess vibration effects and their potential to damage buildings. This doesn’t appear to be a huge problem for locals.

Why can’t the public go to parts of the MOD Shoebury site?

You can go to some parts and the MOD does open the doors to the media and the public from time to time to demonstrate what is going on at its testing centres, but some parts of the site are very dangerous as they are where live weapons drills are taking place. The nature of the work carried out on the site means that access has to be strictly controlled.