Former BBC director general Greg Dyke has begun work on a £26million plan to transform a Victorian fort into homes and businesses.
After gaining planning consent from South Hams District Council in late 2017, construction is now beginning in earnest on the scheme at historic Fort Bovisand, on the coast at Wembury, on the edge of Plymouth.
Mr Dyke, chairman of Ford Bovisand Developments Ltd, is behind the ambitious project at the 19 th Century Palmerston fort, which has been the subject of stop-go proposals for more than a decade, and has started with a £500,000 programme of cliff stability work.
Experts have been abseiling the cliff face at Wembury as they check its condition and the safety of the access road to the fort.
Eventually the former fortress will be transformed into 80 houses and apartments, a bistro café with rooftop terrace, visitors’ centre and events space.
Mr Dyke said: “We have taken the first step on the way to saving the fort and bringing it back into sustainable and meaningful use. This is the first stage of our exciting plans for the future of the Fort.
“Basically, we are starting a £26million project by spending more than £500,000 making sure the access road at the front of the fort doesn’t fall into the sea. Obviously this has to be done first before we get on with the rest of the project.”
The ambitious project to restore the former stronghold and build more than 80 houses and apartments on the site can’t begin until the cliffs and the access road, to the fort and neighbouring residential properties, are secure.
It was planned for the work to start in March, but it was delayed by the escalation of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown.
It is now anticipated that this stage of the programme will be completed by early September when work will then start on the rest of the project.
Built in the 1860s as a defence against the threat posed by Napoleonic France, Fort Bovisand is one of the best surviving Palmerston Forts.
In recent years it became a commercial diver training centre and was at the centre of development plans for much of the 2000s.
But the fort is in urgent need of repair and is currently on Historic England’s “at risk” register.
The new regeneration proposal is intended to restore the fort’s historic buildings, improve sea defences and reinstate the harbour, while creating 81 new homes with sea views from their terraces.
Two towers in the Upper Fort, demolished in the early part of the 20 th Century, will be rebuilt in a “sympathetic style” on their original foundations.
Three of the casemates will provide space for the bistro café and rooftop terrace, with its views across Plymouth Sound, and the visitor centre and events space are intended to promote the importance of the historic site.
Access from the Fort Bovisand harbour to the South West Coast Path will be reinstated, and it is planned that a regular ferry service will operate from there to points around Plymouth Sound.
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Mr Dyke said: “For me this is a very exciting moment. I am delighted we are now in a position to start on this project.
“We acquired this magnificent site some years ago, so actually starting on site is an important moment. As soon as I saw it and understood its history, I was determined it should be saved.
“Very quickly it became clear that the best chance of saving and restoring the fort was by allowing sensitive development on parts of the site.
“Both South Hams District Council and Historic England agreed with this analysis and have been very supportive in getting a workable scheme agreed to achieve the future life of the fort’
“With the Mayflower 400 commemorations deferred to 2021, this is an opportune time to commence restoring and developing the fort, for the benefit of future residents, the rural economy, local residents, visitors and schools alike.”
