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Future of military bases in doubt New Army academy threat to jobs
(about 5 hours later)
An announcement over the future of several military training bases in Dorset and Hampshire is to be made in the House of Commons later. Hundreds of jobs and businesses are under threat in Dorset, Hampshire and Shropshire after a government decision to move military training to Wales.
The government is expected to confirm that a new centralised defence training academy will be set up at St Athan in South Wales. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said 330 jobs will go at an engineering training unit in Bordon, near Winchester.
It is feared up to 800 civilian jobs could go at Blandford Camp in north Dorset if it is sold by the MoD. About 1,700 civilian jobs are under threat at Blandford Camp and HMS Sultan in Gosport is also affected.
Centres at Bordon, Winchester, and Gosport are also under threat. RAF St Athan was chosen ahead of RAF Cosford, Shropshire, to house the new centralised defence training academy.
Bob Walter, MP for North Dorset, told the BBC he was "fearing the worst" for Blandford Camp. The new armed forces tri-service centre is worth £14bn and is expected to create about 5,000 jobs.
The impact on the local economy if we were to lose [Blandford Camp] could be quite catastrophic Bob Walter, MP for North Dorset I think it's fundamentally the wrong decision and the impact on the local [Blandford] economy I think could be quite dramatic Bob Walter, Conservative MP for North Dorset
He said: "It looks as if the government is going to announce that all military training, that is the six defence colleges, are going to be concentrated on one site in south Wales. The decision was announced by Defence Secretary Des Browne in the House of Commons at lunchtime and follows a review of defence training needs.
"The Ministry of Defence has spent £100m on new facilities at Blandford in the last five years. He said neither Blandford Camp - the national communications and IT training centre - nor HMS Sultan - the Royal Naval School of Marine and Air Engineering - will close completely.
"With all the amount of effort and money that have been put into Blandford over the last few years, I think the impact on the local economy if we were to lose that could be quite catastrophic." But he said: "Some redundancies following transfer cannot be ruled out."
Mr Browne said training at Cosford and Blandford would continue until 2011 and added: "The department is exploring a number of proposals for the future defence use of both" and that a military presence is expected to remain.
An artist's impression of how the academy at RAF St Athan would look
He said marine engineering training at HMS Sultan would continue until 2017 when it would relocate to St Athan.
Bob Walter, Conservative MP for North Dorset, said he was very disappointed.
"The Ministry of Defence has spent £100m on new facilities at Blandford in the last five years," he said.
"I think it's fundamentally the wrong decision and the impact on the local economy I think could be quite dramatic."
He said about 3,000 people, including more than 700 civilians, were based at the camp and there were another 1,000 jobs that are dependant on the base.He said about 3,000 people, including more than 700 civilians, were based at the camp and there were another 1,000 jobs that are dependant on the base.
"I want to get assurance from the Ministry of Defence that not only will we keep the Blandford establishment, but that it will become the centre for the Army's communication and information technology," he added. Bruce Voss, head of operations at the South West Regional Development Agency for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole, said the loss of jobs "will have a devastating impact on the rural economy".
Mr Walter said he wanted to see signals regiments from across the country moved to Blandford. He added: "The skills that will be lost as a result of relocation are vital to the south west and will take a great deal of time to re-establish."
A spokesman for the MoD said he could not comment on the future of Blandford Camp until the announcement had been made.