If you're a James Bond fan, here's your opportunity to purchase your own Skyfall-esque villain's lair in the UK for just £50,000. Represented by Savills and going to auction on 19th July 2022, Bull Sands Fort is reminiscent of the lair used by 007's adversary Raoul Silva (played by actor Javier Bardem).
The iconic film location is a real place – off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan – called Hashima Island (also known as Gunkanjima, meaning Battleship Island) however your own lair is a somewhat more manageable size than Hashima and [if you're located in Europe] is in the relatively convenient location of the Humber Estuary, Hull in the North East of England.
Whilst £50,000 may appear to be a bargain guide price, it's evident just from the drone footage above that a significant additional investment will need to be made in order to return the property to a habitable condition. Furthermore, such a unique property is inevitably difficult to accurately value and a low guide price has likely been set to generate interest and attract bidders. The cost of constructing this type of property is enormous and only really justifiable by a country for defence purposes so the chance to privately own one, regardless of the redevelopment costs, should not be overlooked.
Planning permission will of course dictate what can be done to the Grade II listed sea fort however it is our understanding that the relevant planning authorities have an open mind as to the use of such properties – particularly because the fate of the property if not re-developed will be a gradual decline in to complete dereliction. Whilst similar sea forts have been converted to use for tourist accommodation (Solent Sea Forts), there is the possibility of seeking permission to develop this in to your own, secluded lair. It's easy to imagine a trophy residence here, perhaps with a helipad as an alternative to boat access, and such a property could almost certainly become a sought after vacation rental lair.
If you'd like to find out more information about Bull Sands Fort and the 19th July auction, click here to visit the Savills website.
