Mistley nuclear bunker: Step inside the converted apartments

The Cold War era bunker in Shrublands Road, Mistley, can now be purchased by those wanting to own a piece of history for £550,000.

Designed as a safe haven for government officials in the event of a nuclear apocalypse, the property certainly has a rich, and controversial, past.

The kitchen space

The Grade II listed property found in the quiet coastal village was intended to serve as the communications hub of the country should there be a nuclear attack.

Originally built in 1951, developers BuildVantage have now restored and converted the property into three plush duplex apartments.

Arranged over two floors, each home is enclosed by heavy blast doors made from military grade tank steel and protected by 600mm thick reinforced concrete walls.

One of the properties also features an original ventilation system housed behind a glass wall, while each apartment also comes with its own off road parking and enclosed garden.

The homes – centred around a communal atrium – are on sale with estate agents Savills with prices starting from £550,000.

The communal atrium

Property agent Max Turner, from Savills, said: “The developers have found the perfect balance of combining modern day luxury with restored original features to create an extraordinary transformation.

“It’s a truly unique development – connecting the past and present in a landmark building that’s part of the area’s heritage and which will of course make a great talking point when friends and family visit.

“We’ve already received a lot of very positive feedback and people are obviously interested in the bunker’s history.”

However, not everyone is has been in agreement that the conversion is a welcome addition to the village.

The living room space

In 2013, proposals to turn the disused war bunker into three homes, with an additional 28 houses on the site near Furze Hill, were refused by Tendring Council’s planning committee.

The proposals were thrown out for being “alien” and an “unnecessary eyesore” in February.

But the owners of the site submitted an appeal against the council’s decision to refuse listed building consent and refusal to grant planning permission.

In November later that year, the Planning Inspectorate then ruled in favour of the owners and granted both listed building consent and planning permission.

The bathroom

Carlo Guglielmi, district councillor for Lawford, Manningtree and Mistley, said he is still “flabbergasted” the development went ahead.

He said: “It has only been enabled for the benefit of one or two people.

“I’ve got no issue with a development when its properly planned but this hasn’t been, I’m still very sceptical about it.

“It makes a mockery of the rules and I was absolutely flabbergasted when it was allowed to proceed on the basis of enabling development.”