A World War II RAF bunker that warned of Hitler’s bombs will be turned into a luxury underground vacation property.
After its construction in 1941, the windowless concrete tower at Ringstead Bay in Dorset served as an RAF radar base.
The station was part of a series of bunkers positioned along the southern shore to provide early warning of the German Luftwaffe.
In 1952, when tensions with the USSR increased during the Cold War, the facility was renovated into a rotor station.
These sophisticated air defense systems were designed to warn of possible Soviet bombers, while the station’s workers resided mere minutes away at Upton Farm.
After its construction in 1941, the windowless concrete tower (left) near Ringstead Bay in Dorset served as an RAF radar base.
Dorset Council has granted Lipton Plant Architects of London permission to convert the bunker into a two-bedroom vacation home (right, CGI of what the home would look like)
The station was closed once more in 1956, and it remained abandoned until the National Trust took the area.
The windowless building is now practically indiscernible from the exterior, having been covered by overgrown flora and greenery.
Dorset Council has granted Lipton Plant Architects of London permission to convert the bunker into a two-bedroom vacation home.
The architects have revealed CGI renderings of what the completed bunker will look like.
The concrete walls of the bunker facing the Jurassic Coast will be blasted to create window openings, which will be filled with glass.
The base’s roof will continue to be covered in vegetation, but the shrubs just outside the new windows will be trimmed down.
The Jurassic Coast-facing concrete walls of the bunker will be blasted to create window openings, which will be filled with glass.
The base’s roof will continue to be covered in vegetation, but the shrubs just outside the new windows will be trimmed down.
A path through the woods will lead to the station’s facility, blending it into the surrounding landscape.
The entire inside will be redesigned to give a magnificent vacation home.
Locals have submitted letters in favour of the conversion.
Richard Deakin stated, “I adore the notion that these historic structures can be revitalized.”
‘There are a couple more, so if successful, it may be possible to restore those as well.’
Another neighbor, Councillor Nigel Williams, stated, “This proposed renovation of a decaying World War II radar bunker marks a masterstroke of preservation of a piece of our local history at Ringstead, while allowing others to reside there.”
A path through the woods will lead to the station’s facility, blending it into the surrounding landscape. The entire inside will be redesigned to give a magnificent vacation home.
It will feature breathtaking views of the bay and will be barely visible to anyone else in the vicinity.
A spokeswoman with Lipton Plant Architects stated, “We are ecstatic that our highly unconventional design to convert a decommissioned World War II bunker into a vacation home has been approved.”
By reoccupying the bunker, we seek to commemorate its historical significance.
By ‘blasting’ a new opening, not only may the room be used as a vacation home, but it will also provide vistas of the Jurassic Coast.