By Isabella Nikolic For Mailonline
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An RAF bunker that warned of Hitler’s bombs in World War II is set to be converted into a luxury underground holiday home.
The windowless concrete structure at Ringstead Bay in Dorset served as an RAF radar base after it was built in 1941.
The station was part of an early warning system of bunkers spread out along the south coast to watch for the German Luftwaffe.
In 1952, when Cold War tensions with the USSR were rising, the structure was refurbished as a rotor station.
These were elaborate air defence systems developed to warn of potential Soviet bombers and the personnel that manned the station lived minutes away at Upton Farm
The windowless concrete structure (left) at Ringstead Bay in Dorset served as an RAF radar base after it was built in 1941. Lipton Plant Architects of London has been given planning permission by Dorset Council to convert the bunker into a two-bed holiday home (right, CGI of what the home would look like)
The station was closed again in 1956 and it remained derelict until the National Trust took ownership of the land.
The windowless building is now almost invisible from the outside, camouflaged into the landscape thanks to overgrown foliage and vegetation.
Lipton Plant Architects of London has been given planning permission by Dorset Council to convert the bunker into a two-bed holiday home.
The architects have released CGI concept images of what the bunker will look like when it is completed.
Blast holes will be blown into the concrete walls of the bunker facing the Jurassic Coast which will then be filled with glass to provide windows.
Greenery will still carpet the roof of the base but the shrubs immediately outside the new windows will be cut back.
Blast holes will be blown into the concrete walls of the bunker facing the Jurassic Coast which will then be filled with glass to provide windows
Greenery will still carpet the roof of the base but the shrubs immediately outside the new windows will be cut back
The station will blend into the surrounding countryside with a woodland track leading into the compound.
All of the inside will be completely refurnished to provide a luxurious holiday retreat.
Locals in the area have written letters supporting the conversion.
Richard Deakin, said: ‘I love the idea these old buildings can be brought back to life.
‘There are a few more about, so if successful maybe they could also be restored.’
Another neighbour, Councillor Nigel Williams, said: ‘This proposed sympathetic conversion of a dilapidated World War 2 radar bunker represents a masterstroke of conservation of a slice of our local history at Ringstead, while at the same time permitting others to benefit from staying there.
The station will blend into the surrounding countryside with a woodland track leading into the compound. All of the inside will be completely refurnished to provide a luxurious holiday retreat
‘Looking out, it will have stunning views of the bay and will barely be seen by anyone else in the surrounding area.’
A spokesperson for Lipton Plant Architects said: ‘We are absolutely delighted that our highly unusual scheme to turn a disused WWII bunker into a holiday home has been granted planning permission.
‘It was previously lost beneath the landscape and vegetation but by re-inhabiting the bunker we hope to celebrate its significant history.
‘By ‘blasting’ a new opening not only can the space be enjoyed as a holiday home but views of the Jurassic Coast will be revealed.’
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group