Blyth wartime battery to welcome tourists

Posted by Simon Honeysett on Aug 30, 08 03:13 PM in News

A LONG-running project to convert rare wartime relics into a tourism and education centre is on course to be completed early next year.

Blyth Battery - which was built on the town's seaside links to defend the port during two world wars - has been described as the best surviving example of an anti-aircraft battery on the east coast of England.

Blyth Battery

For more than a decade, Blyth Valley Council and local heritage enthusiasts have been working to bring the collection of buildings back into use as a visitor attraction and educational resource.

Now a new report to councillors says the project is scheduled to be completed by March, when the plan is to hand over the management of the restored battery to a group of local volunteers.

Council chiefs - who have earmarked £150,000 for the scheme this year - are currently waiting to hear whether bids for £250,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £130,000 from English Heritage have been successful.

The scale and extent of the restoration scheme will depend on whether the funding bids are approved, but the project will go ahead whatever happens.

Blyth Battery was built for the First World War and was later dug out and upgraded for use during the Second World War. The Grade II-listed complex was officially designated as a scheduled monument by the Government in 2006.

It is made up of twin gun emplacements, searchlight platforms, an observation post, rangefinder tower and an engine house.

This week, the council's cabinet is expected to approve the submission of a formal planning application for the work.

The finished complex will comprise a main visitor centre in the former magazine building, a second visitor area, public access to the gun emplacements, searchlight platforms, observation posts and war shelters and repairs to other buildings.

The Friends of Blyth Battery community group will supervise the complex and lead guided tours every Saturday and Sunday from May to September.

A report to Tuesday's meeting says: "More than 30 members of the community have attended the group and have been involved in developing the proposals for Blyth Battery ."

If the funding bids are successful, the project will also include a three-year education officer post to involve local schools and youth groups and a community heritage scheme to help develop the attraction.

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