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From Hotel To Home - Plans Emerge For No Man's Land

A fort in the middle of the Solent, which was put up for sale earlier this year, could become one big house. No Man’s Land Fort — one of the three 'Palmerston follies' — was originally built between 1867 and 1880 to protect the Solent area, including Portsmouth dockyard and Naval base, from enemy attacks and finally decommissioned by the Ministry of Defence in the 1950's. In recent years it was bought and developed into a four-star hotel by Mike Clare, founder of the bed company Dreams, with 23 en suite bedrooms, staff quarters and five themed bars. In September last year, it was announced the forts were to be sold off by Mr Clare, when it was thought No Man’s Land and Spitbank Forts could fetch £8 million together. Now a planning application for No Man’s — which also currently has a lighthouse, laser battle play area and spa — is asking the Isle of Wight Council for permission to change the hotel into a single residential property. Plans put forward by Mr Clare’s holding company Clarenco, would cease the use of the building as a hotel and turn it into a house with at least 15 bedrooms in the middle of the Solent. Comments on the application can be made until April 14.

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