Demolition begins at historic military site

Demolition has begun at a military site which has played a role in some of the most devastating moments in British history.

For many years Fort Halstead has been home to the government's top secret forensic explosive laboratories, where scientists studied the aftermath of multiple disasters - from IRA attacks to the bombing of a Pan-Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie in 1988.

A building of major historical significance, it is where the wreckage of the bus blown up in the 7/7 London bombings was brought for analysis and where the detonator for Britain's atomic bomb was developed.

But now the Ministry of Defence research facility, near Sevenoaks in Kent, along with around 150 other buildings on the 185-acre site, is being knocked down to make way for 635 new homes.

However, while the area may need more homes, some local residents say the infrastructure will not support the build and will impact those living nearby.

"I'm really concerned because this development is very big, while people already on site have suffered enormously," said one resident.

"They're had shortage of water, low pressure and electricity outages - plus the roads are strangulated with traffic as it is."

William Walsh, managing director for housebuilder Barratt David Wilson Kent, said: "People don't need to have concerns.

"We speak to the authorities who provide those services and work with them to make sure the site has all the infrastructure it needs for the homes we're going to create."

He said that "as part of the design, we're trying to incorporate the history of what we're inheriting".

"We're doing that by introducing some heritage trails and retaining some buildings on site, around which we'll create a historic centre," he added.

Indeed, the original fort, built in the 1890s, and the newer buildings within it are among a dozen structures that will be protected.

Fort Halstead eventually shut in 2022 when its services moved to Porton Down, near Salisbury.

The new build site is expected to include mixed-use employment spaces, shops and cafes, as well as a bus link and cycle path.

The development is expected to take six years in total, with the first homes going on sale in 2027.

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