Updated: Remedial Work to World War II Air-raid Trenches Set for Approval

Published on: 21 Aug, 2026
Updated on: 21 Aug, 2026

By James Moules and David Rose

local democracy reporter

The Foxenden Quarry playground cordoned off where the Second World War air-raid trenches are, showing where the entrance to them was.

Remedial work to reinforce a “structurally unstable” Second World War air-raid trenches by a Guildford playground is likely to receive planning permission next week.

The wartime trenches, which sit below ground beneath a cordoned-off area of Foxenden Quarry Playground, has now fallen into a state of “disrepair”.

According to planning documents, the floor of the trenches has “failed” and cracks are beginning to appear, rendering it a “risk to health and safety of the playground and park users”.

Guildford Borough Council is seeking planning permission to carry out necessary repair work to make the site structurally secure.

Cllr Phil Bellamy

However, Cllr Phil Bellamy (Lib Dem, Ash Wharf), Guildford Borough Council’s finance lead, insisted the adjacent playground is still safe for public use in the meantime.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Foxenden Quarry Playground remains open and safe for public use. The playground is regularly inspected to ensure it meets the required safety standards.

See 2013 article: New Timber Fort At Foxenden Quarry Is Child’s Play

“The area immediately around the bunker [sic] is not considered safe for public access and is therefore unavailable for use. The proposed works aim to make the structure safe and secure, which would help improve the playground and wider park for all users in the long term.”

The works would see the feature’s void filled with compact stone to prevent further damage and possible collapse.

Cllr Bellamy added: “A planning application for remedial work will be considered by the planning committee next week.

“If planning permission is granted, secure fencing will be installed around the work area, and a section of the playground will be temporarily closed while the repairs are carried out.

“These measures are necessary to enable the works to be completed safely. Every effort will be made to keep disruption to playground users to a minimum.”

Historian Frank Phillipson, writing on the Facebook page Guildford Past & Present in 2023, noted with the following illustration:

Foxenden Quarry Trench Air Raid Shelters 1940.

Before the deep level shelter was built in Foxenden Quarry, in 1939/40 air-raid trenches to accommodate 690 persons were dug on the edge of the Quarry alongside York Road. In October 1939 permission was given by Guildford Borough Council for children from Sandfield School to shelter in them.

However, at 00:10 hrs on 29th September 1940 a bomb fell on them creating a huge crater wrecking three bays of the trenches, uprooting trees, smashing windows, dislodging tiles and flinging debris in all directions. Although the concrete lining of the other trenches was not generally cracked it was forced out of position. Debris covering the road was quickly removed but chalk and chalk dust was blown onto the Allen House grounds bowling and putting greens. Sources: Guildford Borough Council Records at Surrey History Center, Surrey Times extracf, “The Foxenden Quarry Deep Shelter” by Helen Chapman Davies.

Click to enlarge in a new window.

The ferature in question is not part of the much larger Foxenden Tunnel system, a far deeper air-raid shelter that also dates back to the Second World War.

In their report, which will be considered by councillors next week, planning officers wrote that the works would be “minor in scale” and no potential harm to the surrounding area had been flagged.

They are recommending that councillors approve planning permission, saying: “The proposed development would see the retention and improvement of the existing quarry playground and park through making safe a structure that has fallen into disrepair.”