DPC urges MoD rethink on gatehouse demolition

Members of the Development and Planning commission unanimously recommended that the Ministry of Defence rethink its plans to demolish the century old Police Post/Gatehouse at the entrance to the dockyard.

The MoD filed an application with Town Planning stating it had “no use for this building but more importantly, the building footprint is required by the MOD to provide additional parking for security vehicles to enable efficient execution of security staff duties.”

The “building has no obvious architectural significance beyond that of other nearby building, being a utilitarian structure built to control access to the area,” it added.

The Heritage Trust and the Ministry of Heritage met with the MOD and appealed to them “to be imaginative” and said they did not feel the building is past repair.

The DPC recommended a rethink on the demolition plan because the building “provides a local narrative” and it “embodied the early roots of the dockyard.”

It believes that the building “might be in poor condition but it is stable and could be used.”

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