Hope Cove Radar Station

The Hope Cove Radar Station is a Grade II listed building constructed between 1952 and 1954, originally designed as a Rotor radar station and later converted into a Regional Seat of Government (RSG) by the Ministry of Works.

The building is made of reinforced concrete with walls that are 900 millimeters thick. The main structure is semi-sunken and follows an R6 type design. It has a rectangular shape with stairs at each end, and the layout includes a central corridor with 28 rooms on each floor. The two-storey operations room features an inserted mezzanine floor.

Due to its design to withstand a 5 kiloton nuclear explosion, the exterior has no windows. The only openings are located at each end of the ground floor, which are fitted with blast doors and lobbies. The roof is a flat concrete slab with a concrete parapet.

Inside, the building has a utilitarian design with no decorative features, but it retains fittings and fixtures from both the Rotor and RSG phases, including a kitchen with serving hatches to separate dining areas. The original teak flooring dates back to the Rotor phase, along with the air conditioning plant and cork-lined internal partition walls. Some signage from the Rotor phase is still present, and the stairs are equipped with metal balustrades and timber handrails.

To the south of the main operations block is a square generator block from the 1960s, which houses two generators: a 375kva Meadows unit from the 1950s and a 375kva Cummins unit from the 1990s. Approximately 200 meters to the north-west is the Type 80 ('Green Garlic') radar modulator building, which is a single-storey structure consisting of a square modulator room connected to a rectangular generator room by a covered corridor. This building also includes an induction regular room and a store, and it is made of concrete, representing a contemporary Rotor structure that is a rare survival.

The special interest of the site lies in the fabric from the 1950s and 1960s, while any later additions are not considered of special interest.