Plans to reopen Yorkshire’s only Napoleonic fort to the public have been revealed.

The news came weeks after owner Brian Rushworth’s proposals for a 64-pitch caravan park at Fort Paull, on the banks of the Humber, east of Hull, were refused by East Riding councillors.

Mr Rushworth closed the former military museum in 2020 and its main attractions including the Blackburn Beverley transport plane were sold at auction later that year.

Fort Paull Heritage Site said on social media they were “starting from scratch” and warned it was a “huge undertaking”. However they aim “to make this a wonderful museum to visit, a cracking events venue and the best of all, (maintain) the longevity of this incredible fortification”.

Fort Paull, near Hull, Yorkshire's only Napoleonic fortressPicture by Jonathan Gawthorpe

They plan to start by opening one day a week, at a date to be confirmed, and charge a small fee to allow people to take a wander and have a picnic. Dogs are allowed.

They hope to run events, including ghost tours, classic American car shows, and if possible a Christmas market.

In March councillors heard the site could fall into rack and ruin without a sustainable use, and a holiday park was considered "less damaging” to the environment. Mr Rushworth told councillors they were attempting to find a use for the building after the death of his wife and ageing staff made the former museum unviable.

However Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said visitors using a public footpath through the nearby Paull Holme Strays reserve risked disturbing birds trying to feed and roost.

Fort Paull owner Brian Rushworth with the Blackburn Beverley aircraft which was sold after the museum's closure

Fort Paull was built on the orders of Henry VIII, and was partly demolished by gunfire from Parliamentarian ships sailing to relieve the siege of Hull in 1642. It was rebuilt in 1861 to defend the approach to Hull and was one of 10 Palmerston Forts, erected in the north east.

Then Prime Minister Lord Palmerston ordered them to be built because of the threat from Napoleon’s nephew Louis Napoleon III. But they were decried as Palmerston’s Follies, as by the time they were built at huge expense the threat from the French Navy had passed.

Mr Rushworth took over in 1989 and spent a decade digging out the thousands of tonnes of sand which had been used to block up the labyrinth of tunnels under the fort. The attraction, backed by the Royal Armouries, Tussauds and English Heritage, opened in 2000.

Fort Paull: Plans to reopen Yorkshire’s only Napoleonic fort revealed