Protection
From the lists of sites,selected places were put forward for legal protection using standard selection criteria used for monuments of different periods.A further test was also applied to identify sites that were critical to the United Kingdom's defence strategy and that of NATO.
Summary of Assessment Criteria
Survival/Condition
●Structural integrity and survival of internal configuration,plant and fittings.
●Structures that survive in their original form;however,reuse for another purpose may add historical value to a structure.
●Survival of contemporary setting,character,spatial relationships—group value.
Period
●A site that represents a particular phase of the Cold War.
●Centrality to a country's or alliance's defence doctrine or policy.
●Technological significance.(https://www.daowen.com)
Rarity
●In most cases individual site types are rare.Criteria for protection will probably also include technological reasons.
Diversity of Form
●Where a site or structural type might exhibit a number of different structural forms,although designed to fulfil an identical or similar function.
Cultural and Amenity Value
●Sites or structures that promote public education,access,and tourism.
To date about 60 Cold War sites and buildings have been protected as listed buildings or scheduled monuments.They range from relatively small three or four person underground monitoring posts to emergency government bunkers that might accommodate 300 to 400 people.Some missile test and deployment sites remain as concrete footings stripped of their metal fittings,while command centres,aircraft and missile shelters from the 1980s basically remain unaltered.In selecting sites for protection priority was given to structures that reflected the main characteristics of the Cold War and which had been purpose-built.The development and deployment of nuclear weapons was one such feature.Sites have been protected where key research projects were undertaken,and where weapons were stored and deployed.Constant global surveillance by the two superpowers to assess the military capabilities of one another and to detect signs of preparations for attack was another theme.This activity is represented at former RAF Alconbury,Cambridgeshire,by the listing of two extra-wide hardened aircraft shelters built to house American TR-2 tactical reconnaissance aircraft and their associated protected data analysis centre.
One of the challenges in protecting Cold War sites is their scale.Research and development establishments may cover thousands of hectares,while airfields cover many hundreds of hectares and include many hundreds of buildings.On these very large sites the approach has been to protect key groups of structures that reflect the central mission of a facility.On an airfield this may include its command centre,aircraft shelters,bomb stores,control tower,and data processing facilities.In one case,at Upper Heyford,Oxfordshire,the local council has used local planning legislation to protect most of the airfield as a Conservation Area.This seeks to preserve the overall character of the airfield,while allowing for some change.Here commercial reuse of buildings is critical in providing the resources for their maintenance and that of the airfield landscape.
The total number of Cold War sites that will receive legal protection as historic sites will only ever represent a small percentage of their original numbers.While some will be demolished,many more will remain,some will continue to be used by the armed services,others will find new uses,while others will survive abandoned as modern ruins.