Brand new £220m attraction to be built in secret tunnels underneath UK city
INCREDIBLE plans have been revealed for a brand new £220m tourist attraction set to be built underneath a major UK city.
The cultural attraction will be constructed as a permanent “heritage experience” deep down in subterranean wartime shelter tunnels.
The City of London Corporation’s planning and transportation committee today approved proposals to turn the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels under High Holborn into a visitor and cultural attraction.
Plans include combining the buildings at 38-41 Furnival Street into a single structure with the ground floor becoming the posh entrance to the incredible attraction.
Shravan Joshi, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, said: “I am incredibly excited by these plans and hope that LB Camden feels the same way.
“At the City of London, we are delivering a thriving, sustainable Square Mile, through a combination of business growth and celebration of our local heritage. The new and exciting heritage, arts and culture activity that this scheme has the potential to deliver, will enliven the local streets and venues.”
“As we work to transform the Square Mile into a seven-day-a-week destination, developments like the one proposed for the Kingsway Tunnel site will become global attractions for a variety of visitors, which are projected to rise substantially.”
The wartime shelter tunnels were built in London between 1940 and 1942 and used to protect Brits during World War II.
Found underground between Chancery Lane and High Holburn tube stations, the tunnels are more than 130ft below ground.
However, after the war, they closed to the public and were converted into private use by the UK government for top secret branches.
James Bond writer Ian Fleming even worked there for a short period and was said to be the inspiration behind the James Bond Q operations.
New plans have revealed the £220million attraction would feature integrative structures and immersive experiences along the way.
It also hopes to open the deepest licensed bar in the UK by renovating the previous bar that was built by British Telecom on-site in the 1980s and used by government staff.
London Tunnels CEO Angus Murray said: “The history of the tunnels, their scale and the location between London’s Holborn and the historic Square Mile, could make these tunnels one of London’s most popular tourist destinations.”
The project is being conducted with with established architecture firm Wilkinson-Eyre, also behind the Battersea Power Station, Science Museum and Mary Rose Museum.
Further afield, they were also behind the famous Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and Ikea Museum in Sweden.
Mr Murray added: “Visitors will be able to explore the inspiration for Q Branch from James Bond and an actual deep-level shelter to protect the British against German bombing.”
The attraction hopes to open by 2027 at the earliest.
An official opening date and ticket prices are yet to be revealed but hopes to attract as many as two million tourists.
In the meantime, you can visit other underground tunnels in the UK.
The London Postal Museum is home to a 100-year-post train underground which kids can ride.
And Western Heights, in Dover, opens to the public once a year and was used to protect the coastal region from a potential French invasion.
However, they often only open one weekend a year – last year it was September 16-17 – and 2024 dates are yet to be announced.
Sun Travel visited the only underground theme park in the UK.
And an English seaside town is home to a mysterious underground attraction – made of 4.6million seashells.