The Bunker was first installed underground in the early Eighties as an emergency control centre in the event of a nuclear conflict. It can produce its own lighting and heating for up to 7 days if it was cut off from mains supplies.
There are also solid steel anti-blast doors fitted that are 20cm thick.
Today, The Bunker acts as a local resilience centre in the event of major risks such as severe weather, flooding, cyber-attack and widespread electricity failure.
Neil Sturrock, Senior Organisational Resilience Officer, says “The Bunker serves as a critical hub for coordinating emergency responses, allowing for centralised command and control. The Bunker helps various partner organisations collaborate effectively in a crisis.”
Up to 50 designated representatives, including Police Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, can move into the space at a moment’s notice and conduct operations.
The Bunker was used to coordinate multi-agency responses to the Lockerbie disaster and the foot-and-mouth outbreak.