EXCLUSIVE: The Grand Designs project no one wants: World War II lookout tower marked as a quirky holiday home with spectacular views attracts zero bids after going on sale for £160,000

A derelict World War II watchtower marketed as a potentially quirky holiday home has attracted no bids.

Hopeful estate agents had solicited offers of around £160,000 for the ugly concrete structure, noting that it offered spectacular views over the Suffolk coast and nearby farm lagoons.

There was hope it would appeal to someone with deep pockets looking to do a Grand Designs style makeover of the property.

But the three-story tower, whose interior walls are covered in graffiti, received no bids in an online auction, despite being surrounded by a 0.2-acre strip of land.

A stumbling block may have been that the building is listed second, meaning that special permission would be required to change its appearance.

Hopeful estate agents had solicited offers of around £160,000 for the ugly concrete structure, noting that it offered spectacular views over the Suffolk coast and nearby farm lagoons.

The three-story tower, whose interior walls are covered in graffiti, received no bids in an online auction

A stumbling block may have been that the building is second grade, meaning special permission would be required to change its appearance

The tower with its three internal floors measuring 17ft by 14ft was built in 1940 as a command post and to house range finding equipment for a battery of coastal defense guns at Bawdsey, near Woodbridge, Suffolk.

It was abandoned at the end of the war and has stood empty with no affiliated services ever since.

The tower also has no stairs, so the lower and first floors currently have to be reached via rusty metal ladders.

Estate agents Clarke and Simpson described it as an ‘unusual three-storey reinforced concrete structure with potential for a variety of uses, overlooking the sea’.

Stuart Clarke, a partner in the company, said he believed the property a local landowner wanted to sell could be converted into a one-bed holiday home.

He admitted that before the auction, the stark-looking building came across as “cheeky” and failed to garner any bids, despite the tower being located in an area hugely popular with wealthy second homeowners.

Mr Clarke added: ‘Someone could have an open plan kitchen and sitting room on one floor and a bedroom with spectacular views over the freshwater lagoons and out to sea.

‘It’s a fairly remote place and quite isolated, but it’s in an area of ​​wild beauty and the views from all directions are simply stunning.

‘The walls are made of reinforced concrete and the whole structure is incredibly sturdy as it was built to form part of Britain’s coastal defences.

“It may look cruel, but we’ve had a few people show interest in it.”

The tower has three internal floors measuring 17ft by 14ft and is located near Woodbridge, in Suffolk

It also has no stairs, so the lower and first floors currently have to be reached via rusty metal ladders

The tower was built in 1940 as a command post and to house range finding equipment for a battery of coast defense guns at Bawdsey

The tower is located in an area that, according to brokers, is very popular with wealthy second-residents

The Battery Observation Post was built amid fears of German troops invading the east coast of England.

It is believed that high-precision rangefinders were housed in the top floor of the tower, which acted as the communications center for searchlight positions and guns.

City councilors refused planning permission to convert it into a home in the 1980s.

But in 2002 planning permission and a heritage building permit were granted to make the building ‘a holiday unit’, although the zoning change was not made at the time.

Mr Clarke said any change of use would have to be reapplied for.

But he suspects any application will be viewed sympathetically because of the nearby Martello Towers that date back to the Napoleonic era and have been converted into residences.

He said: ‘The permission to transfer it to holiday use was given at a time when the council wanted to boost commercial activity.

‘It probably has to be rented out for a certain number of days per year in order to qualify as a holiday building.’