20 September 2007 : Article

The fight for Cosford must continue

Last week the whole of Shropshire, including myself, thought that the Ministry of Defence had finally decided in favour RAF Cosford becoming the new home of two army brigades, 1 Signal Brigade and 102 Logistics Brigade, being redeployed to the UK from Germany. Initially, and after months of campaigning it appeared that RAF Cosford would finally find a new lease of life. The MOD announcement looked like good news – news that everyone could celebrate. But on closer inspection no such commitment about Cosford’s future has actually been made. Instead, the MOD’s comments have created new caveats and new doubts.

For the Ministry of Defences decision states:“This is a provisional approval”. The future of the base still needs to go through many more decision loops. It also states: “Other sites will continue to be assessed until such a time as Cosford’s future defence use has been decided”. This means that at the same time of suggesting Cosford might have a defence future the government is looking at other military sites! It is clear, a final decision has NOT been made by Ministers and it was misleading of them to suggest otherwise. And to cap it off the MOD has confirmed: “the final approval for Cosford will not be made until Spring 2009”. This puts the county in a frustrating limbo – and why I will be putting pressure on Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, to make an early decision in order that local residents, businesses, and suppliers can plan for their lives - and their children’s futures.

The MOD statement raises far more questions than it answers. What is clear is that the government is looking for a convenient exit strategy should the relocation of defence training from RAF Cosford to RAF St Athan begins to stall. Everyone knows that the training contract decision was flawed and that the people of Shropshire were betrayed. A government decision very few local people will forgive them for.

Today in Wales, the defence training programme is being implemented at a snails pace because of squabbling between the government and Welsh Assembly – mostly over who pays for infrastructure. This would never have been a problem for Shropshire as the majority of the infrastructure is already in place. But what does this all mean in the context of a possible army super-garrison at Cosford?

If RAF St Athan is not ready by 2009 then the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering and associated defence training will not be able to move to St Athan, which would mean the army having to look elsewhere to house its two brigades. That is why the MOD statement mentions ‘looking for other sites’ and why there are no guarantees for Cosford. This scenario will mean that Cosford will have missed out and will have lost its opportunity to house the army – and to have a new defence future. For some this might sound like a positive delay meaning current RAF training staff and Cosford’s existing training role would continue. This is true, in part, for any such delay would only be temporary - a short-term reprieve. For once the wrangling in Wales has been overcome – Cosford’s current training role will still be transferred to Wales. The government are reluctant to change their minds! It is at that nightmare juncture - that RAF Cosford would have lost both the RAF and the Army. This is something that must not be allowed to happen. That is why the whole community must come together to ensure Cosford does have a future.

Today the fight for jobs and investment at Cosford continues. That is why I have launched a community petition that I will present to Parliament calling on Ministers to give local people security – not fear and doubt. I hope you will sign this petition at: www.markpritchard.com It is critical that Cosford continues to have a defence future – whether that future is serving the RAF or the Army.