Carter Jonas, the national property consultancy, has secured planning permission from Cornwall Council on behalf of GAP Group Limited (“GAP”), the national plant and tool hire business, for the change of use of the historic Bodmin Moor Radio Station site in Lanivet to a plant, tool and equipment hire depot.
Bodmin Moor Radio Station has been derelict since it closed in 2002 and was subject to vandalism putting at risk a number of protected species that call the 2.05-acre site (0.83 hectare) home. The proposals safeguard the future of the site’s buildings by refurbishing the historic Transmitter Hall and Canteen Block. They also retain an ecological buffer zone around the edge of the site and provide landscape planting, a bat tower, reptile refugia, and interpretation boards to promote understanding and appreciation of the site’s history.
Richard Sykes-Popham, associate partner, Carter Jonas, said: “We coordinated a team of consultants to prepare a comprehensive planning application that ensures the site’s history and biodiversity are respected by carefully balancing its heritage and ecological value against the need to secure a suitable and viable use for the former radio station.
“The project builds on our growing relationship with GAP following work on their sites in Bury St Edmunds, Tilbury and Watford. The permission will enable GAP to relocate and expand their Cornwall depot to this strategic location on the A30.”
Bodmin Moor Radio Station was the first of a series of radio stations built in the 1920s by Guglielmo Marconi for the British Government, enabling communication with Canada and South Africa. In the 1970s and 1980s, the site provided the hotline connecting Downing Street with the Soviet Union.
GAP has more than 1,800 employees in over 130 locations serving a range of industries including construction, utilities, civil engineering and events. In recent years, GAP has focused on a diversification strategy that has seen the company grow from its traditional plant and tool hire roots to a multi-service offering with eight divisions, providing customers with a complete hire solution.
