If you're looking for a quirky place to holiday in rural Somerset, your choices just got a little more exciting.

Neil McCallum applied in February for planning permission to turn a former nuclear bunker just outside of the Quantock Hills area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) into a holiday let.

The plans would allow tourists to live underground for short periods in a remarkable reminder of Britain's role in the Cold War.

Somerset Council has now approved the proposals – meaning the site could be open to tourists within the next 12 months.

The former bunker lies on Kilton Road in the small village of Holford, a short distance from the Moorhouse campsite off the busy A39 between Bridgwater and Williton.

To the naked eye, all that is currently visible is a small field with what appears to be a chimney sticking out of the ground, next to a shepherd's hut and a small area for car parking.

The bunker – which provided 14 sq m of space inside – is one of 1,500 of its kind, constructed in the 1950s to provide emergency shelter in case tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union boiled over into nuclear war.

Most of the sites were decommissioned in the late-1960s, though some remained in active use until the USSR's collapse in December 1991.

There is legal precedent for converting these bunkers into holiday accommodation, with similar plans for a bunker in the South Downs National Park (which straddles Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex) getting the go-ahead in 2019.

Like those proposals, Mr McCallum intends to expose the bunker on the northern and western sides and partially extend it, installing solar panels to provide energy for heating and lighting.

The bunker will be marketed to walkers and cyclists wishing to visit either the Quantock Hills or the West Somerset Coast Path.

A spokesman for Shattock Associates (representing Mr McCallum) said: "The concealed bunker will be accessed via a new stair built within the proposed lightwell.

"On the plot of land that the bunker occupies, a parking and turning area will be created for a single car.

"The bunker will be used as a retreat by the applicant, but will also be available to rent by like-minded holiday-makers."

The bunker will be able to accommodate two people on single fold-down beds, and will also include a kitchen, shower room with toilet and a patio area.

The plans were approved through the delegated powers of the council's planning officers, rather than a public decision by its planning committee west (which makes decisions on major applications in the former Somerset West and Taunton area).

Case officer Briony Waterman said: "On balance, it is considered that the proposal would enhance the accessibility and appreciation of the site and provides a viable use for the nuclear bunker.

"Given the scale of the proposal and the current use of the site, it is considered that there would no significant impact upon highways or the visual amenity of the area."