Maldon District Council Emergency Centre is located in Promenade Park, Maldon. This 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 Maldon & 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.
Those taking part in the visit were Nick Catford, Keith Ward, Duncan Halford and Andrew Smith.