WW2 gun site faces demolition in seafront plan

A World War Two gun emplacement could be demolished as part of a £6.9m scheme to stabilise a crumbling seafront.

Swanage Town Council wants to protect Sandpit Field and Weather Station Field, where ground movement has caused significant cracks in retaining walls.

Dorset Council planning officers have recommended the plans for approval ahead of a meeting on Wednesday, despite 60 objections, many of which raised concerns about the loss of the wartime structure.

The town council said continuing ground movement had damaged the emplacement, and a report in August recommended it be fenced off because of the risk of collapse.

In September, resident Nick Chellingworth said the proposed demolition was "extremely upsetting and disrespectful" to those who died in the war.

At the time, councillor Cliff Sutton, who sits on Dorset Council and Swanage Town Council, said in an online post that engineering reports had found cracking and a void beneath the structure, and it would not survive the works.

A member of the public applied for the emplacement to be listed in July, but Historic England refused, saying alterations had compromised its historic interest.

An appeal to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was also rejected.

Dorset Council's conservation officer did not support the demolition, saying it would weaken the town's links to its wartime past, but stopped short of objecting.

The plans also include closing part of Walrond Road to create a larger events space, a plaza and 46 new beach huts.

The road closure needs separate approval from the Department for Transport.

Dorset Council is contributing £2.5m, with the town council covering the rest.

A second, smaller application for the site, which would also see the gun emplacement demolished, will also be considered at Wednesday's meeting.