Designs have been drawn up to transform Crown Estate-owned British wartime sea forts into a destination hotel, spa and museum. The World War II Redsand Forts are situated seven miles off the British coast in the Thames Estuary near Kent,
Aros Architect's proposed plans would develop the towers into a complex with around 40 standard, executive and penthouse rooms. The health club and spa will be built in a tower known as Bofors.
Guests will arrive by helicopter or hovercraft from St Katherine's Dock in London, Southend-on-Sea, or Whitstable. They will land at the central ‘hub’ of the hotel, once the old control tower, and access their rooms via glass walkways giving views of the sea below.
A museum dedicated to the ingenuity of civil engineer and designer of the forts, Guy Maunsell, is proposed within the ‘Searchlight Tower’, with its own separate arrival jetty..
Charitable group the Redsands Project is working with Aros Architects and businessman David Marriot Cooper to find a hotel group to lease ownership and back the scheme.
This is not the first time that the UK's former sea defences have been converted into hotel and leisure destinations. Amazing Venues have opened both No Man's Fort and Spitbank Fort in the Solent into luxury hotel accommodation. A third Solent fort, Horse Sand Fort, is currently being renovated.