Community group launches ambitious bid to open Bidston tunnels to the public

Sep 30 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

“It would be easier to open the Bidston tunnels than the ones in Tranmere because there is no industry. We have got open space in front of them and you could get people in. I think it would be stunning and there’s huge potential to turn it into a tourist attraction.

“We’re very determined and we want to see them brought back into use.”

Mr Crawford said it was too early to say how much the project would cost.

In the 1960s the shelter was considered as a place that could be of use because of the Cold War, but there was a lot of dry rot in the timberwork, and it has lain unused ever since.

Bidston councillor Jim Crabtree, who remembers playing in the tunnels as a child, said the idea of opening the shelter as a tourist attraction was originally suggested in 1984.

He said: “The tunnels are absolutely huge and it was built in a big H-shape.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea.”