Lots of homes are set to be built around it
14:55, 16 May 2026Updated 14:58, 16 May 2026
A general view inside the plant room of the Nottingham War Rooms bunker in Beechdale, Nottingham.
Work is underway as the Nottingham War Rooms, Cold War bunker site in Beechdale, Nottingham, is developed.
Photo: Friday May 15, 2026.
(Copyright: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
Work has started to transform a Cold War bunker and build 104 new affordable homes around it.
Known locally as “The Kremlin”, the bunker was built in Beechdale during the early 1950s, as tensions mounted between the US and the Soviet Union.
It was one of 16 “war rooms” built during the Cold War years and would have served as a regional governance centre in the event of nuclear war.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service was given a tour of the large concrete structure, with work now having commenced to transform it as of the beginning of May.
Dark and drab corridors feature hooks from which government officials would have draped their coats, and a functional Lamson tube system snakes around the site, through which critical messages would have been sent using compressed air.
A general view inside the men’s dorm room of the Nottingham War Rooms bunker in Beechdale, Nottingham.
Work is underway as the Nottingham War Rooms, Cold War bunker site in Beechdale, Nottingham, is developed.
Photo: Friday May 15, 2026.
(Copyright: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
A warranty slip from the 1950s even features in one of the original fridges in the kitchen, which has been left completely untouched.
What could have been home to up to 400 government staff will now become a community hub, featuring podcasting and media facilities, café and restaurant space, and room for charities to work.
Robyn Hutton, of Langcroft, said she hopes the bunker will become an “asset for the community”.
“The ground-breaking for the 104 homes was last week,” she said.
“Owl Homes Partnerships are now on site, building those for East Midlands Housing. Langcroft are now on site doing our first set of building works for this Grade II listed bunker.”
Permission for the transformation of the site, off Chalfont Drive, was granted by Nottingham City Council in November last year.
While the wider site will soon be home to 104 families and individuals, the bunker was originally designed to accommodate its inhabitants and protect them from nuclear fallout, rather than a blast itself.
Fallout is the residual radioactive material that falls back to the earth, having been sent up into the air after a nuclear explosion.
The site was later decommissioned and repurposed as a storage facility for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food before it closed its doors in the 1990s.
A general view of a blast door at the Nottingham War Rooms bunker in Beechdale, Nottingham(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
The bunker spans three floors and features a former BBC studio, which was designed to deliver news broadcasts to any survivors outside.
As part of the redevelopment of the bunker, a number of heritage zones will be retained, including the Lamson tube system, a plant room, the original kitchen and canteen, and the BBC studio.
One restaurant will be on the ground floor, and another on the roof, with a terrace.
The housing plans for the development include six one-bedroom properties, 60 two-bedroom homes and 38 three-bedroom dwellings.
Langcroft completed the purchase of the site in March.
“Our first milestone will be punching the windows in, excavating through the concrete, in some areas it is as deep as two metres thick,” Robyn added.
“We are going to be bringing light in from the outside into the space. We are hoping this building will be a real transformation.”
The developer could not provide a timeframe for completion.
