A Cold War nuclear bunker in Bristol is set to be turned into an events space. The Grade II-listed war room was built in the 1950s and is based on the site of a new housing development in Brislington.
Housebuilder Bellway is building a neighbourhood of 160 homes at Flowers Hill Grange - a 8.6-acre site which also included vacant office buildings most recently used by the Department for Work and Pensions and Brislington Driving Test Centre.
These have now been demolished to make way for the housing scheme but the nuclear bunker, on the southern edge of the development, has been retained.
The Bristol War Room, built in 1953 to co-ordinate defence in the event of a nuclear attack, was sold at auction last month. It is understood the new owner - a company called Locat Holding - is planning to use the bunker as an events space.
As part of the outline planning consent for the development, permission has been granted to change the use of the building to 'commercial, light industrial or community use'.
Sam Sowden, land and operations director at Bellway South West, said: “This site presents a unique opportunity to create an attractive and modern residential development alongside a building of major historical significance.
"Although any renovations to the war room will be subject to a separate detailed planning application from its new owner, Flowers Hill Grange has been carefully designed to protect the historic setting of this Grade II-listed landmark.
“The layout of the development will ensure greater spacing between the bunker and neighbouring buildings than existed previously, with six parking spaces for the war room also provided."
A large area of public open space will be created in the southern part of the site around the war room that will include a play area and pond.
There will also be play spaces in the centre and in the northern part of the site, while a green corridor will run the full length of the development from Flowers Hill in the north to the bunker in the south.
“While the development will respect the historic character of the site, the new homes will be modern and energy-efficient properties fitted with low-carbon technologies such as air source heat pumps," said Mr Sowden.
The development will include a mix of 61 apartments and 99 houses, with the first homes released onto the market this month.
There will be 146 properties for private sale and 14 affordable homes for low-cost rent or shared ownership. There will be a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments in three and four-storey blocks with a variety of two, three and four-bedroom houses ranging between two and three storeys in height.
"We’re looking forward to working alongside the new owners of the war room to create a unique development which celebrates the area’s past while delivering the low-carbon homes of the future," added Mr Sowden.
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