Site Records

Malden District Council Emergency Centre

Site Visit Report: 5th January 2000

[Source: Nick Catford]

On the 5th January, 4 members of Subterranea Britannica (Nick Catford, Keith Ward, Duncan Halford and Andrew Smith) and two non members visited two emergency centres in South Essex.

Our second visit was to the Malden District Council Emergency Centre in Providence Park Malden. This is a much smaller structure (than that seen at the Epping Forest District Emergency Centre -ed ) and is located in the basement of a small brick building, purpose built in 1982. The building still has an array of aerials on the roof from this period. The building is within a nursery with access down what would have been an external stairway on one side of the building. A greenhouse has now been built alongside and access to the stairway is through the greenhouse(!).

At the bottom of the stairs is a gas tight door giving access to the control room of this small four roomed bunker. At one side of the control room a door leads into a room containing the boiler (which is still in use) and the stand by generator which is not.

On the other side of the room, a door leads into a small room. Both this and the former control room are used as stores by the nursery. On the other side of the small room a door leads into the fourth room, this is kept locked and not used by the nursery.

Inside is a small ventilation plant and most of the equipment from the bunker when it was still in use. This includes 2 1960's teleprinters, 4 1970's teleprinters, a 1950's typewriter, some 1950's/60's furniture, various items of Pye communications equipment, a number of Plessey portable dose rate meters (PDRM82) unused in boxes, a Marconi RC782 (part of the Emergency Communications Network), a chemical toilet, a box of papers including war plans for Malden & Epping Forest, copies of Protect & Survive etc. On the walls there are several maps showing the locality and ROC clusters.

The bunker was taken out of use in 1985 after only three years when a new Emergency Centre was opened in the council offices in the town. Apart from the ECN unit which was moved to the council officers virtually everything is still there albeit not in its original position. The bunker has no emergency exit.

(Our first port of call was the Epping Forest District Emergency Centre.)

Nick Catford 5.1.2000

Home Page

© 1998-2001 Subterranea Britannica