Source: AFP
A battle is brewing over plans to turn the so-called spy tunnels under central London into “one of the world’s most unique cultural experiences”, pitting a global funder against local residents.
Australian-born private equity entrepreneur Angus Murray has submitted the proposal to turn the storied but little-known Kingsway Exchange tunnels — which stretch for more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) — into a major tourist attraction.
If approved, it will host immersive exhibitions showcasing its distinctive heritage as a Second World War bomb shelter and then home to top-secret Special Operations operatives.
A branch of the foreign intelligence agency MI6, considered the inspiration for ‘Q Branch’ in Ian Fleming’s James Bond franchise.
The redesigned venue, which will feature other exhibits as well as Britain’s deepest licensed bar, aims to welcome up to two million annual visitors from 2027.
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“We envision London’s tunnels taking on the same iconic status … as the London Eye,” Murray said last week as he announced plans to list the business on the London Stock Exchange.
The company plans to invest £220 million ($280 million).
But in recent weeks, concerned residents on the notorious Holborn corner have been digging in, complaining about developers and then visitors accessing the site from their quiet streets.
Local opponents include a British lawmaker and owners of a psychotherapy and counseling center.
“I object… because of such a dramatic change of character in a quiet residential area,” local resident James Keay told Camden Council and the City of London local authority, which will decide on the planning application.
‘Vision’
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The complex below Holborn was built as an air raid shelter during the Blitz bombings of the early 1940s, before MI6 moved in later in the war.
Source: AFP
The government expanded the site at the beginning of the Cold War to house a secure and secret long-distance call center, shrouding it in official secrecy for decades.
The tunnels operated the first transatlantic telephone cable, called TAT-1, and were a key cog in the so-called open line between Moscow and Washington that emerged in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
Much of the original equipment from this time will be retained, according to the developers.
The venue, spanning 8,000 square meters (86,000 sq ft) and approximately 30 meters (100 ft) below ground, housed up to 200 staff and featured a bar, a restaurant with virtual windows and a recreation room with snooker tables.
But by the late 1980s telecommunications technology had advanced and the complex was decommissioned. It went on sale in 2008.
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Murray, a former Macquarie Group executive who started his own hedge fund, eventually bought it.
“The vision is to turn the tunnels into one of the most unique cultural experiences in the world,” said his start-up, The London Tunnels, as it unveiled the plans last September.
“The project aims to work with major technology and entertainment companies, as well as like-minded partners, museums and universities,” he told potential investors last week.
‘Effect’
The company plans to spend £140 million on “restoring, maintaining and equipping the site”.
Source: AFP
It has earmarked an extra £80m for installations including high-resolution curved screens, interactive structures, “scent emitting technology” and hundreds of acoustic speakers.
The tunnels, nearly eight meters wide, will offer a “multi-sensory, digital experience across the world of the arts, nature and sciences”.
But John Krebs, a member of the Upper House of Lords, who owns a flat there, said residents were concerned about crowds and traffic on “a quiet, narrow side street”.
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Access for delivery and service vehicles and whether the visitor center lobby could handle the expected 500 visitors per hour are other concerns.
“In short, the logistics of the proposal and its impact on the road appear to be poorly thought out,” Krebs told AFP.
In a dozen objection comments lodged so far, local residents have called the plans “completely unacceptable”, “prohibitively damaging” to the neighborhood and “a blatant travesty” of planning rules.
“It fails to make the case that the area would benefit from such a tourist attraction or that there is a demand for such a historical experience or that another pub is needed to serve a declining drinking culture,” wrote one resident, Walter Scott.
London Tunnels, which ran months of public consultation last year, appears undeterred, claiming in its IPO announcement that it has already raised £10m from investors.
It is seeking a further £30m from new shareholders, inviting them to tour the space.
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The move to the stock market “offers both UK and international investors the opportunity to support while owning part of this unique irreplaceable heritage and cultural attraction”, Murray told them.
Source: AFP