Tech firm Bogons buys Cultybraggan nuclear bunker

The bunker was built in 1990 at a cost of £30m to house Scottish Office staff in the event of nuclear attack

A bunker built to house Scottish Office staff in the event of a nuclear attack has been bought by a technology firm.

The bunker at Cultybraggan Camp, near Comrie, has been sold to online service company Bogons Ltd for £150,000.

Built at the end of the Cold War but never used, the bunker was bought along with the wider camp by the Comrie Development Trust in 2007.

The money raised in the sale will go towards paying off loans taken out to purchase the camp.

The bunker is thought to be the last of its kind built in Britain, having been completed in 1990 at a cost of £30m.

It would have served as a national command centre in the event of a nuclear attack, and is equipped with a radio mast, TV studio, telephone exchange, decontamination showers and dormitories.

After being closed down almost immediately following the end of the Cold War, the bunker was marketed as a good location for data storage, as it is shielded from solar flares which can affect computer equipment.

A previous bid to buy the site from a technology company, GCI Coms Group, fell through in 2012.

'Ideal location'

The bunker has now been sold to Bogons Ltd, an internet service firm which has over 20 years of experience working with people and businesses, dating back to 1989.

The company offers services including server hosting, domain name registration and consultancy services for web firms.

New owner Brandon Butterworth said he was "pleased" to have bought the bunker.

He said: "I've had an initial look at what needs to be done to make it fit for business and now we will commence the work to bring it online.

"As well as an ideal location for long-term data and media storage projects we've been working on for a while, we're also hoping that we can work with local businesses and communities to provide them with tailored internet hosting and connectivity service to meet their needs."

The firm is also planning to offer people the opportunity to tour the bunker before work to fit it out as a data storage centre gets under way.

A spokesman for the Comrie Development Trust said they were keen to progress plans for the camp and were looking forward to having Bogons Ltd for neighbours.