The demo was originally announced at  http://northern-indymedia.org/events/387
"to protest at g s k plans to improve their site by 55%
and the fact they are still customers of Huntingdon Life Science"

On that posting the demo was called for gsk at North Lonsdale Road, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 9DR. This is a different site 74 miles from Barnard Castle.

...

Re Barnard Castle:

With around 1,100 staff GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) claim to be the largest employer in Teesdale.

The site at Harmire Road, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8DT (telephone: 01833 690600) covers approximately 60 acres (24 hectares) of countryside in and around Barnard Castle. GSK manufacture over 50 products, 25% of which are approved for the United States, and supply these to around 100 markets.

"Barnard Castle has two product streams, namely steriles & liquids and topicals & orals, and we make a range of dose forms including syringes, vials, inhalers, pumps, tubes, tablets, capsules and bulk granules."

ref:  http://www.gsk.com/careers/uk-gms-barnardcastle.htm

...

According to the 'Controversy' section at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlaxoSmithKline (the open source encyclopedia to which anyone can add further information)

"The company and its shareholders have been targeted by animal rights activists because it is a customer of the controversial animal-testing company, Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). HLS has been the subject since 1999 of an international campaign by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), ever since footage shot covertly by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which was shown on British television, showed staff punching, kicking, screaming and laughing at the animals in their care."

...

In the GlaxoSmithKline plc Corporate Profile
published by Corporate Watch UK in November 2002
at  http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=325
they report that...

"GlaxoSmithKline uses animal testing and vivisection in its drug research. In it’s company policy on animal testing GSK “…acknowledges that it has a moral responsibility to ensure best practice in the humane treatment of laboratory animals.” In spite of this, GSK’s testing practices are often cruel, and the tests themselves completely unnecessary.

"GSK’s animal testing policy claims “Non-medical Consumer Healthcare products…are never tested on animals unless there is a specific demand for this from national governments.” Yet, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in August 2000 listed SmithKline Beecham as a company that manufactured animal tested products. These were personal health care and household products that were not required by US law to be tested on animals. SmithKline Beecham’s animal testing policy at the time also stated that testing would only be carried out if required by law."

...

"GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have announced proposals that include the loss of 200 jobs at their manufacturing site in Barnard Castle. The proposals form part of GSK’s strategy to safeguard the long-term future of the plant and, if implemented, redundancies will take place over the next 12 to 18 months."

ref:  http://helengoodman.co.uk/gsk-propose-redundancies-at-barnard-castle-plant/