A BUILDING hidden off a busy York road was designed to withstand the awesome blast of a nuclear explosion, but now it has protection of a different kind.
For Shelley House, in Acomb, is the first Cold War bunker to be designated as a Scheduled Monument.
That means the semi-submerged installation which would have acted as a nerve centre for monitoring and reporting nuclear blasts and fallout is now guarded against disturbance, damage and unlicensed metal detecting.
Culture Secretary Chris Smith has agreed that the bunker should enjoy the same protection as monuments like Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall, following a study of former Cold War sites across the country.
PICTURE: Shelley House, the nuclear bunker in Acomb, York
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