A HISTORIC bunker at an ex-RAF base will be filled in this month.

VSM Estates owns Bentley Priory, in The Common, Stanmore, and is demolishing the interior of a Cold War bunker as it prepares to remarket the site.

Workmen will remove the top soil before knocking in the roof and filling the bunker with rubble.

The top soil will then be replaced, leaving the exterior of the building still in tact.

But the move is opposed by the Stanmore Association, with John Williams, the chairman, saying it should be opened to the public.

He said: “The entrance will still be there, with the big double doors and the blast wall. It seems like a bit of a shame though.

“When I give tours of Bentley Priory a lot of people ask about the bunker, they all want to see it.

“The bunker is such a mysterious place, the whole of Bentley Priory is a mystery to Stanmore residents who used to wonder what was happening on the other side of the fence.”

Guy Gusterson, land director at VSM Estates, said: “The bunker on the site will be filled in as part of the development works to make the site safe for public access.

“English Heritage has decided not to list the bunker and has noted that there are better examples of Cold War bunkers in the UK which should be retained.”

The RAF Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust backed VSM Estates, saying the cost of maintaining the bunker would be too great.

Squadron Leader Erica Ferguson said: “The bunker has never been part of the trust's plans because they just couldn't afford it.

“The Second World War bunker disappeared in the early 80s when the Cold War bunker was built.”