Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

This sub-surface bunker is on the north side of the depot yard at Medway Council’s offices at Strood. It was built in 1988 to serve the Rochester area as a centre from which both to co-ordinate rescue and emergency services in the event of a conventional, nuclear, chemical or biological attack on the United Kingdom and to handle a local peace time disaster.

Monument Types

• CIVIL DEFENCE HEADQUARTERS (Modern - 1988 AD to 1988 AD)

Full description

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This sub-surface bunker is on the north side of the depot yard at Medway Council’s offices at Strood. It was built in 1988 to serve the Rochester area as a centre from which both to co-ordinate rescue and emergency services in the event of a conventional, nuclear, chemical or biological attack on the United Kingdom and to handle a local peace time disaster. It formed part of a wider network of locally based control centres. It was unusual in being one of a small number of new control centres built during the later Cold War period. Its function reflected a new ‘all-risks’ doctrine. This combined planning for dealing with war and civil emergencies in the same building, located close to council departments and their resources of vehicles, equipment and manpower which the local emergency authority expected to need to deploy in addition to those of the regular emergency services.

In an emergency, the role of the centre was to receive information about the extent of casualties and damage and disruption to property, public services and transport and to organise and focus the deployment of rescue and emergency services. About 30 staff were to operate the bunker. They consisted of communications operatives who received information by telephone, radio or messenger, and control staff who assessed this and took decisions about the allocation of resources. In reciprocation, the communications staff passed back decisions and instructions to the emergency services outside.

The bunker had its own power and filtration plant, together with limited catering facilities.

When visited, the bunker had been stripped of much of its originally provided equipment and was being used as a store for files and furniture. However, it is still envisaged as being capable of use as a control centre in the event of a civil disaster and retains some communications equipment.

Externally the bunker presents as a ‘depot’ type of council building. It is rectangular in plan, built of red brick with a flat concrete roof having an additional pitched roof spanning its centre. A pylon-like radio mast is on the western side of the building.

It is entered on its south side from the yard. Steps from an entrance vestibule lead down to the plant room, water tank and a store room and, through a further door, to a large L-shaped control room on which are wall boards and some maps of the local area. Off this are the separate radio room, men’s and women’s toilets and a kitchen. There appeared to be no dedicated dormitory area. (1)

<1> Victor Smith and Andrew Saunders, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage (Unpublished document). SKE6956.

Sources and further reading