"No desire" from MoD to restore Fort Rowner at HMS Sultan in Gosport despite it "crumbling into the ground"
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Funding gaps and a lack of desire is putting a historic military site at risk while it’s “crumbling into the ground”.
Fort Rowner in Gosport is decaying at an alarming rate, but there are currently no plans to bring it back to its former glory. Situated on the grounds of the HMS Sultan naval base in Military Road, the Victorian fortification is barely used by the Ministry of Defence.
Without clear direction, it could become too dangerous and costly to restore and maintain. Chairing the Culture, Media and Sport committee today (January 6), Gosport MP Dame Caroline Dinenage said Historic England found the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to be one of the worst culprits for accountability and enforcement of protecting military assets.
She accused the government body of placing several sites under “managed decline”. Major General Andy Sturrock, Director of Strategy and Plans at the MoD’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), said it wasn’t a direct political policy.
He said: “We want to look after all our buildings, new or historic, but there is a reality that budgets don’t stretch as far as we wish. There’s a question of prioritisation. Where we can use historic buildings for operational purposes, then they are well looked after. When there is an inability to use a building, or repurpose it for operational use, then it becomes harder to look after it, as the prioritisation is inevitably lower.”
What is the current state of Fort Rowner?
Fort Rowner was one of the Palmerston forts constructed to repel a prospective French land invasion. The Grade II listed building, along with Fort Grange, was incorporated into HMS Siskin in 1945, and then HMS Sultan in 1956. The fort became the Royal Navy’s Degaussing Establishment for over 20 years until 1991.
The Royal Navy cleared its ramparts and keep roof in 1994 after becoming overgrown, at the cost of £400,000, but it’s starting to decay again. It’s currently listed on Historic England’s “at risk” register. Sites placed on the list need urgent attention if they are to be maintained and restored.
Maj Gen Sturrock said 688 MoD buildings are listed, with 47 in poor condition and 26 on the heritage at risk register. A total of 11 are on live-firing training areas. Ms Dinenage, Conservative, said Fort Rowner is currently used to store caravans and the site is being dismissed.
“Fort Rowner has no investment at all in either maintenance or keeping it safe,” she added. “It’s literally crumbling into the ground. If you don’t describe that as managed decline, how would you describe it?”
Maj Gen Sturrock responded: “It’s not a policy of managed decline. We’re not actively choosing to do that. There is a limited budget to maintain all the facilities at HMS Sultan. As the heads of establishment and those who run that site have to make their prioritisation decisions about it, they will understandably focus on making sure there’s heating and hot water for trainees on the camp, and that the teaching facilities are workable.
“A historic asset like Fort Rowner, which we don’t have an operational use for, is difficult for us to spend a lot of money on. Where we can, we would look to dispose of assets that we don’t have a use for. Quite often though, these assets are within the curtilage of a camp and there are security concerns about separating something off.”
What can be done to save Fort Rowner?
The DIO director said as Fort Rowner sits on the edge of HMS Sultan, they would need to reroute the perimeter fence in a “very expensive” project they don’t have the budget for. Ms Dinenage said she understands the priorities for training and accommodation, but the nation’s heritage should not be put at risk.
“It’s not up to the Royal Navy or the MoD to decide whether our nation’s heritage should rot at the public’s expense,” she added. Some Gosport sites have gained new leases of life, such as Fort Gilkicker, but others including Fort Blockhouse stand without certain futures. The MoD is trying to sell several sites, but such processes are taking years to complete.
Maj Gen Sturrock said funding and development times are the biggest hurdles for maintaining historic buildings. He added that the MoD often chooses not to develop and convert historic sites as it takes too much time to gain planning permission.
Ms Dinenage said Fort Rowner could be hived off to a caretaker organisation that looks after the site, without impacting the security of the base. “As things stand though, there is no incentive for HMS Sultan to get rid of it,” she added. “I know this because I have spoken to successive stewards of the site. They’ve had no interest in disposing of it, and no obligations whatsoever to maintain that asset.”
Maj Gen Sturrock said incentives for disposal would be helpful, as the MoD spends hundreds of millions of pounds on maintaining historic sites. He added that it would be good for external organisations can take on locations, but they need consider the security concerns in doing so.
“We have no desire to keep hold of buildings and assets we don’t need, and can’t make active use of for operational purposes,” he added. “You’re right in pointing out that we don’t spend as much money on maintaining some of the assets as everyone would wish. If we could move that liability on, that would be a good thing for us.
“Could you find a way of enclaving Fort Rowner off the site? Possibly. We’d need to know that someone was willing to take it on. There’s no guarantee any prospective owner will be able to look after it in the same way. There are examples of government buildings being handed over to developers, then they’re not actually developed and they fall further into decay.
“We’re not holding on to assets because we want to hold onto them. If there was a way for us to be able to move them to other people’s hands who could use them, and that is aligned with the needs of the military alongside, that would be very helpful for us.”