Grainger Market air-raid shelters to be filled with concrete
The air-raid shelters have remained closed off since 2018
Last updated 26th Oct 2024
Hidden tunnels underneath Grainger Market which were used a bomb shelters in World War II are going to be filled with concrete.
It's needed to allowed construction works to go ahead safely - as part of a £9 million pound revamp
Work began recently on a major restoration of the Georgian building, which will include the installation of new flooring, toilets, doors, seating and signs.
And it has now emerged that the rarely-seen air raid shelters underneath the city centre market will need to be filled with concrete to allow the construction works to go ahead safely.
City council bosses say that the tunnels, which were occasionally opened to the public for heritage tours but have remained closed off since 2018, have “deteriorated significantly” and are not strong enough to withstand an overhaul of the market’s arcade area that will see it turned into cultural space capable of staging gigs, fashion shows, plays and other events.
Civic centre officials have lodged a planning application to infill the tunnel network and say it is “not practical” to try and preserve it.
A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “The Grainger Market is a Grade I listed building and we have consulted with the Planning Authority and Historic England on all aspects of the plans for the building from the outset. The priority has always been to protect the heritage and original features of the building wherever possible, whilst still planning for its future as a thriving and vibrant market.
“There are a number of tunnels and air raid shelters below the Grainger Market that were built in the early 1940s. Some of the air raid shelters were blocked up more than 40 years ago and have been completely inaccessible since then. In recent years, some of the tunnels have been accessed by the public as part of Heritage Open Days, although this ceased in 2018.
“The existing ageing tunnel network has deteriorated significantly, far beyond the modern building standards, with sections already substantially weakened and under temporary propping. We must therefore provide new solutions to structurally support the new arcade area and be compliant with modern standards.
“All options have been considered, but to further our plans, eliminate risk and to guarantee the safety of those working on and in the market, as well as its customers it has been decided the safest way to proceed is to fill the tunnels with concrete, although full details of the tunnels will be the subject of building recording to ensure their presence has been documented.”
The tunnels were built beneath the market arcade in around 1941, during efforts to provide more publicly accessible air raid shelters across the country, and could be accessed by lifting metal grates in the market floor.
But the council’s planning application says many such shelters were “flimsy” and that the Grainger Market tunnels “would not have withstood a direct hit”.
Documents sent to city planners admit that the tunnels have “some communal interest” and that their loss will result in “some harm” to the Grainger Market, but say this is outweighed by the benefits of the Levelling Up Fund-backed regeneration scheme.
They say there is “no prospect of public access in the future as access to the tunnels is not safe” and that it is “not practical” to reinforce the tunnels using methods that would be reversible.
It is expected that the infilling of the tunnels with concrete will start early in the new year, subject to listed building consent being granted.
The council spokesperson confirmed that that authority is working with utility companies to disconnect services to sections of the Grainger Market due to be renovated, after which works to improve its toilets will begin.