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Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire: An enigma no more
Posted: 2010/05/23
RESIDENTS of new homes in a small Buckinghamshire town who look out of their windows next spring bank holiday weekend might think they have been transported back to wartime Britain.
In Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, there will be men in military uniform, women in Forties frocks, a spiv selling nylons, the music and dances of the era and a fly-past by a Dakota and a Lancaster.
On other days they will be neighbours to events celebrating Churchill's life, classic cars, the armed forces, historic newsreels and vintage computers.
In February they could have seen members of the gay community arrive to pay their respects to Alan Turing, the maths genius who helped crack German codes and invent the world's first computer.
This is Bletchley Park, home to the code-breakers of the Second World War and now not just a living museum but a museum you can live alongside. In the past decade developers have built about 200 townhouses and apartments on the edge of the historic estate. The latest development by Redrow Homes offers 30 two-bedroomed apartments off-plan for between £159,250 and £178,950.
Bletchley's fame has been steadily growing over the past few years from a small reunion of some of the people who worked there through to today's
100,000 visitors a year.
In between came the setting up of a trust to preserve and protect it, the Robert Harris book Enigma about the enciphering machine and the subsequent
film with Kate Winslet and, most recently, the Government's apology for the "appalling" way in which homosexual Alan Turing was treated.
"This was the most important site in the country in the Second World War," says Trust director Simon Greenish.
"Historians agree that it shortened the war by at least two years.
"At its peak Bletchley Park was breaking 6,000 messages a day. In the latter part of the war we were reading Hitler's own messages to his generals.
We almost knew what they had for breakfast. It was Britain at her best."
One of them was William Tutte, a key player in cracking the Lorenz cipher and the great uncle of Redrow group's managing director John Tutte. "It's an interesting coincidence," says John Ireland, head of the company's South Midlands division, "but we are always mindful anyway of the history associated with our sites and try to reflect the heritage of the area.
"For instance, we have a picture of Alan Turing on the front cover of our sales brochure. We are also going to have a piece of public art here commemorating the significance of what Bletchley achieved and we have commissioned four artists to submit ideas.
"Bletchley is an attractive place in itself with good transport links but I'm sure its association with the code-breakers has also enthused many people to come along to the site and view the homes."
Estate agent Jason Hearn, area director for new homes for the Countrywide Group, whose subsidiary Taylors handles Bletchley sales, believes the site commands a premium of between five and 10 per cent. "The homes at Bletchley Park are certainly more expensive than comparable properties in the surrounding areas," he says.
"There are other attractions, like the wooded aspect and the fact that you are a two-minute walk from the railway station, but I think people are drawn by its history and what went on there with enigma.
"Milton Keynes, which is the nearest big town, doesn't have much history. It's a new town so people like this link with the past.
"We do get some retirees here, particularly grandparents moving to be near their grandchildren, but on the whole most buyers are young people. some already knew about Bletchley Park; the enigma film created interest among a new generation and they combined a viewing with a visit to the museum."
Past prices for the developments have ranged from £110,000 for a one-bedroomed apartment, through £125,000 to £130,000 for a two-bed and £195,000 to £225,000 for a three-bedroomed townhouse up to £260,000 to £300,000 for a four-bedroomed detached home.
Prices rose last year in line with local increases of about four per cent following the drop of 15 to 20 per cent in the nationwide property collapse of 2008. There are consequently few resales at the moment.
Retired librarians Chris simpson, 80, and her husband John, 81, have lived near Bletchley Park for more than 34 years and were involved in the campaign to save it.
"When we first moved here we didn't have the remotest idea what the buildings had been used for," says Chris, who has compiled 18 scrapbooks chronicling the campaign. "People just said they were wartime buildings. It was only as the story came out that we realised their significance.
It was especially meaningful for those of us who had lived through the war.
"At one stage there was talk of it being turned into a retail park, which is when I got interested. saving it became one of the major aims of the residents' association."
The selling of part of the estate for housing has not been without controversy, particularly since the Trust itself, which has always struggled financially, has not benefited from the deal. After the war the land was used by BT and the Civil Aviation Authority and then sold before the importance of the site became public knowledge.
Mr Greenish says that during the Cold War, the government had thought it wise to keep quiet about the code-breaking skills.
There are signs that Bletchley Park, which for so long has operated on a shoestring and the enthusiasm and dedication of its staff and 300 volunteers, may be getting more help.
The Heritage Lottery Fund gave it £460,000 last year to work up detailed plans with a further £4.1million available if the proposals are agreed. In March the then culture secretary Ben Bradshaw announced Government funding of £250,000 for repairs.
If Mr Greenish's dream goes ahead, the "buildings that changed the world" will be backed by audio-visual and other facilities appropriate for a modern museum and numbers that have doubled in the past three years are likely to increase further.
Jason Hearn does not think the prospect of lots of visitors will put off prospective buyers.
"It's part of the deal of living beside a heritage site," he says.
He is not surprised, either, that the site received nothing from the adjoining developments. "Developers don't give away money out of the goodness of their hearts.
It would have been up to the Government to allocate the proceeds but on the whole, the museum has benefited; the marketing of the developments has helped raise its profile.
"I remember when a lot of that land was derelict. some people might not like the developments but they have helped put Bletchley Park on the map."
• MORE INFORMATION: An annual season ticket to Bletchley Park costs £10 for adults, £6 for children.
Call 01908 640 404 or visit bletchleypark.org.uk
Countrywide: 01908 677 227, taylorsestateagents.co.uk.
Redrow: 1604 601 115, redrow.co.uk
