Spire’s pillbox demolition plans shot down

Spire Healthcare, which has created 150 jobs at its hospital in Tollerton, Nottinghamshire, has been refused permission to demolish a Grade II listed pillbox on the site.

The Pillbox was built within an aircraft hangar in approximately 1941 as part of the Tollerton airfield defence during World War Two. The hangar has been demolished.

According to a letter seen by TheBusinessDesk.com, Spire’s planners Oxalis say that the application to move the pillbox was “part of the strategic redevelopment of the wider site”, and that the pillbox has “lost its heritage significance which could not be re-gained through retention or relocation”.

The plans met with mixed responses from the public, with nearly 60 reponses received. Historic England objected to the demolition, saying: “The demolition of the pillbox will result in substantial harm/total loss of a Grade II listed building. It would completely remove historic evidence of this part of the defence structure of the airfield during World War II, harming the strong group value and rarity of the surviving pillboxes.”

Turning down Spire’s application, Rushcliffe Borough Council said: “The proposed demolition of this Grade II listed building would remove the contribution which it makes to the significance of the 17 other Grade II listed pillboxes within the airfield and its immediate environs.”