Originally developed pre-World War II by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as an ammunition dump, it was served by the Golden Valley Railway.

The proposal was to create three central ammunition depots (CAD): one in the south (Monkton Farleigh); one in the north of England (Longtown, Cumbria); and one in the Midlands (Nesscliffe).

Each was connected to the national rail network, and was laid out over an extensive area to avoid total destruction should an accidental explosion occur, or the site be attacked by an enemy.

[2] Retained as an MoD facility, its remote location and proximity to the Special Air Service headquarters at Hereford meant that it has been utilised as a training base in some form since closure of the depot.

[5] In September 2006, Lance Corporal Gordon Campbell of the 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, aged 28, while fast-roping from a helicopter whilst on a training exercise at PATA, fell to the ground and died.