Dales nuclear bunker set to become tourist attraction

A Cold War nuclear bunker in the Yorkshire Dales National Park could be turned into a tourist attraction.

An application has been submitted to change the use of the nuclear monitoring post near Dent, in Cumbria.
The bunker was built in 1958 by the Royal Observer Corps (ROC).

It was one of more than 1,500 constructed around the country at the height of tensions with the former Soviet Union.

The bunkers were designed to protect ROC volunteers following a nuclear attack, allowing them to measure blast waves and radioactive fallout.
They had space for three observers, with enough food and water to last them 14 days.
They were also equipped with a landline and radio communications, with the Dent bunker understood to still have a working phone line and broadband connection.

The bunkers were decommissioned in the 1990s after the threat of nuclear war was adjudged to have reduced.  Many were bought by telecom companies and were used as sites for mobile phone masts.

The Dent bunker was bought at auction in July last year for £48,000 — more than double the guide price of between £15,000 and £20,000.
The new owner is seeking retrospective permission for work done after the purchase, including a new area of hardstanding, a path and a pod.

Documents submitted with the plans to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority state: “In addition to the retrospective elements of the application, planning permission is also sought for the change the use of the site from a ROC post to a tourist attraction, to enable a small number of open days, visits for schools and history club associations and arranged individual viewings to educate visitors in relation to the bunker.”

According to the supporting documents, there are five or six posts in the Yorkshire Dales with the only two not destroyed or sealed being the Dent post and one at Grinton in Swaledale,  “ROC Post at Dent is in the best condition of these sites, and is an important part of Cold War history,” the documents add.  “The change of use to a visitor attraction would therefore enable this important part of Cold War history to be shared with members of the public, schools and historical organisations on scheduled days.”

Visits by schools and clubs would be limited to around 12 people arriving in no more than two vehicles.
Open days would be limited to 20 to 30 people spread across the day at timed slots.

The pod would contain picture boards showing the history of the bunker.

The applicant would be willing to accept a condition limiting the number of visitors per open day and also the number of days per year the site was open to the public, the documents add.