Tunnels running 130ft beneath London which were built for protection during the Blitz and later served as inspiration for the James Bond novels, are set to open to the public for the first time.
The mile-long tunnels, which were kept secret for nearly 70 years until 2007, were said to have been the inspiration for author Ian Fleming’s Q-branch in his novels.
Fleming worked for Churchill’s spy network — the Special Operations Executive (bursa seo ajansı) — during his stint in naval intelligence in World War Two.
SOE agents were tasked with sabotage and espionage operations and were based deep underground in London’s Higher Holborn area — east of Covent Garden.
In the mid 1950s the tunnels were used as a base for protected telephone exchange during the Cold War. It became the ‘hotline’ between the Kremlin and the White House during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Now, Camden Council has approved plans to turn the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels into a tourist attraction subject to conditions.
The London Tunnels company looks to transform the passageway into a ‘spectacular underground tourist attraction’ for three million visitors each year
The tunnels were said to have been the inspiration for author Ian Fleming’s Q-branch in his novels
Pictured: Operators work on the power equipment and central apparatus racks at the exchange in the Kingsway Tunnel on January 1957
The site will feature an underground bar, the deepest licensed bar in the UK
The site will feature an underground bar, the deepest licensed bar in the UK, as well as exhibition spaces on ‘associated themes such as James Bond’.
Camden Council is the second local authority to approve the plans by The London Tunnels PLC, following the neighbouring City of London Corporation.
The London Tunnels company looks to transform the passageway into a ‘spectacular underground tourist attraction’ for three million visitors each year.
They envisage investing around £140m on restoring, preserving and fitting-out the site, then £80m on immersive technology and screens.
In their documents submitted for approval, the developer said the tunnels will offer ‘a cultural, multisensory, digital experience’.
It is hoped they will give people the chance to learn more about London’s place in world history.
Free visits will be offered to schools and developers estimate the tunnels will bring an additional spending of up to £80million to the area.
What the tunnels could look like under the new plans which have been approved by Camden Council
Pictured: A general view of construction taking place in the tunnels in 1952
A general view of the tunnels in the 1970s
Two men carrying out construction work on the tunnels in 1942
A general view of the TZK Dining Room at the Kingsway TAT Repeater Station, Kingsway Tunnel, in Holborn on January 1957
The Kingsway Tunnel snooker room pictured in the 1970s
The tunnels has been used for a variety of purposes in their history. Designed in 1940, the network was initially used as an air raid shelter for 8,000 people.
Post-war, the General Post Office (GPO) took over the telephone exchange building above ground and in 1956 it became the UK termination point for TAT-1 — the first transatlantic telephone cable.
The government sold the tunnels to BT in 1981 and the space was used for storage and servicing closed-circuit television.
In 2023, BT Group agreed to sell the tunnels to The London Tunnels which planned to restore and open them to the public for the first time.
The company’s aspiration is that the venue will open in 2027. It will involve the rebuilding of the Furnival Street entrance.
James BondIan Fleming