Planners turn Essex cold war bunker into controversial homes

[Tony Gosling]

Ex MoD property, including scores of airfields, 
now topping the list of housing development land

The Mistley Anti Aircraft Operations Room was 
built in 1951 for the Royal Artillery (War 
Office), it is built to the standard design with 
one floor and both entrances above ground and the other floor below ground.
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/m/mistley/
Subterranea Britannica is a UK-based society for 
all those interested in man-made and man-used 
underground structures and space. Founded in 
1974, the society (often known simply as Sub 
Brit) has grown to over a thousand members. Our 
interests cover all manner of underground sites, 
from Neolithic flint mines to nuclear bunkers. 
Many of these sites are documented on this 
website. Some can be easily visited, others 
require more specialist training or equipment; some, sadly, no longer exist.

Mistley's Secret Bunker can be turned into homes
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/10842251.Mistley_s_Secret_Bunker_can_be_turned_into_homes/
12:10pm Friday 29th November 2013 in <http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/>News
Mistley's Secret Bunker can be turned into homes

Mistley's Secret Bunker can be turned into homes
CONTROVERSIAL plans to turn Mistley’s famous 
secret bunker into housing are set to go ahead 
after a planning appeal was allowed.
Proposals to turn the disused war bunker into 
three homes, with an additional 28 houses on the 
site near Furze Hill, were refused 
by<http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/search/?search=Tendring+Council&topic_id=2326>Tendring 
Council’s planning committee.
A Government planning inspector has ruled in 
favour of the owners and granted listed building 
consent and planning permission.
Carlo Gugleilmi, councillor responsible for 
planning at Tendring Council, said: “This is a smack in the face for localism.
“The people of Mistley gain absolutely nothing. 
Yes the bunker is secure – but the only people 
who will enjoy it are those able to afford the 
asking price, it is lost to everyone else.
“We would have welcomed sitting around the table with the developer.
“Now Mistley is left with an extra 31 developments the village didn’t need.”
The Secret Bunker was built in 1951 and used in 
the Cold War to receive information about the 
approach of hostile aircraft in the Fifties.
It was turned into a museum between 1996 and 2002 
and given listed building status in May 2007.
Tendring Council rejected the planning 
application in February this year for being 
“alien” and an “unnecessary eyesore”.
The committee said neighbours of the site would 
have to compromise too much if the 31 homes were given permission.
The plans are for two rows of flats with curved 
roofs, as well as three underground houses inside the bunker. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/private/diggers350/attachments/20131204/12c3c66d/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/x-ygp-stripped
Size: 198 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/private/diggers350/attachments/20131204/12c3c66d/attachment.bin>