Site Records
Site Name: Chatham - Southern Water Emergency Control Centre
Farthing Corner
Gillingham, Kent.
TQ815631
RSG site visit 14th November 2002
During the late 1980's Southern Water built three emergency control
centres one at Brede in Sussex, one at Twyford in Hampshire (now owned
by Chubb Security and used as a secure storage facility and the third
near Gillingham in Kent serving the Chatham, area. The Gillingham bunker
just south of the Farthing Corner services on the M2 is built within
a disused covered reservoir. Although completed the bunker was never
fitted out or used.
The bunker is within a large fenced compound on the south side of a
minor road; it is mounded over with earth and grass with two short ventilation
towers on top and a recessed entrance on the north side. There is an
emergency exit shaft at the rear of the mound accessed by lifting a
manhole cover.
Photo:
The bunker built into an old covered reservoir
Photo by Nick Catford
The entrance to the bunker is through an ordinary wooden door opening
on to a flight of steps. At the bottom of the steps to the left is a
heavy steel and concrete blast door with a pressure valve to one side
of it, the door opens into the decontamination room which has a shower
in one corner and two further blast doors, one straight ahead into an
airlock and another to the left into the standby generator room. The
diesel generator is still in place and appears in good condition, there
is also a large fuel tank. Behind the generator is a small low level
steel gas tight door leading to one of two filter rooms. The cylindrical
filters are in place at the base of the intake shaft.
Once inside the air lock there is another blast door on the left which
opens into the main north - south spine corridor. Opposite the air lock
door is the ventilation plant room, the first of three rooms on the
left hand side of the corridor. There is a single 'Andair' filtration
unit consisting of a fan and a filter drum which can be bypassed if
desired. This leads into the ventilation trunking that runs throughout
the bunker. The plant was tested and found to be in good working order.
There is an electrical cabinet mounted on the wall for the controlling
the generator. There is another low gas tight door at the back of the
room to another filter room and the exhaust ventilation shaft.
The next room on the left of the spine corridor is now used to store
the metal frames for three triple bunk beds, nine mattresses and three
double metal lockers. The original use for the room is unknown. The
final room on the left is the dormitory. Although the room is empty
the bunk positions are clearly identified by three sets of wall lights
at the level of each bunk.
The first room on the right hand side of the corridor is the unisex
toilet with two WC cubicles. Each has a modern Elsan chemical toilet,
a small stainless stealer hand basin and a soap dispenser manufactured
by Tom Butler. There are two hand pumps in one of the cubicles. There
is a pressure valve in the wall between this room and the airlock. The
final room on the right is the kitchen which has a small stainless steel
sink and draining boards, a soap dispenser, a hand pump, a cupboard,
two food preparation surfaces and two water tanks.
Photo:
The Faraday Cage with the emergency exit blast door to the right
Photo by Nick Catford
At the end of the corridor is the largest room in the bunker, the 'Control
Room'. The room is empty apart from a large Faraday Cage made by Belling
Lee which stands in one corner. The cage consists of a large electrically
earthed metal box with a hinged door to allow people to walk inside. A similar Faraday cage also exists
at the Brede bunker. There is a small steel and concrete blast door
on one wall opening into the square emergency exit shaft. No ladder
has ever been fitted. Spare filters are stored at the bottom of the
shaft.
The bunker is clean and dry apart from a little standing water at the
bottom of the entrance stairs and the lights work in all but one of
the rooms.
Those taking part in the visit were Nick
Catford and Keith Ward .
Also see:
http://www.medwaylines.com/southernwaterbunker.htm
Last updated 28th September 2003
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