Scotland to get new Army barracks at Kinloss base

Monday 18 July 2011

Scotland is to get a new Army barracks with RAF Kinloss, whose closure as an airbase was announced less than a year ago, becoming home to "large numbers" of units returning from Germany, Defence Secretary Liam Fox will announce today.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT: People march against the cuts in Lossiemouth in a bid to save their base which was under threat of closure. Dr Liam Fox, the defence secretary, top, is to make an announcement today. Above: RAF Lossiemouth. Main picture: Peter Jolly

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Kate Devlin and Michael Settle

While the precise details are unclear, Whitehall sources told The Herald that RAF Leuchars will also be turned into a barracks while RAF Lossiemouth will remain an airbase.

There has been intense lobbying by both Army and RAF chiefs during the Coalition’s nine-month-long bases review.

There has also been strong pressure from campaigners in Fife, home to RAF Leuchars, and Moray, the home of Lossiemouth and Kinloss. Both communities have warned of the potential economic and social devastation which cold be triggered by base closures.At the weekend, Hollywood star Ewan McGregor joined those calling for Lossiemouth to be kept open. As as result of the campaigning, sources said the pendulum has swung one way and then another between Leuchars and Lossiemouth.The suggestion there should be a flexible multi-role brigade of 5000 to 6000 troops based in Scotland seems to have won the day but it now appears will be split between two sites.A Whitehall source said: “You can spread things around. We’re going to have a lot of Army units based in different parts of the country. Kinloss will be one of those areas.”But The Herald has learned there will be a gap before troops, possibly up to 3000, begin to arrive at Kinloss. Under the plans, they will not be transferred before 2014 at the earliest.An MoD source said: “The Defence Secretary has always said he wants to keep a defence footprint in Scotland. It’s expected that the military presence will actually increase over the coming years.”One key element for consideration has been creating a new training area that could hold large numbers of troops and tanks and armoured vehicles. At least two sites are thought to have been under consideration -- the Borders and Caithness.But the plans will still leave the RAF footprint in Scotland much depleted.Before the Coalition began its strategic defence review last year there were three RAF bases in Scotland. While the army announcement is expected to be welcomed by many, it could be fraught with difficulty.MPs have also accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of failing to do its homework on plans for such a return, including on how many school places are available for the children of servicemen and women.The Army wants to bring back up to 20,000 from Germany in coming years, across the UK.Angus Roberston, the SNP MP for Moray and the party’s defence spokesman, said: “There are growing suggestions that RAF Lossiemouth will remain an airbase and Kinloss may host the army returning from Germany.“If that is the case it reflects the strong defence and security argument for the retention of both facilities and the social and economic cases associated with their closure.”Jim Murphy, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, accused the UK Government of “mishandling the process”.Dr Fox is also expected to make an announcement about Army reservists today, boosting their numbers at the expense of the regulars. The Defence Secretary will say the defence equipment budget will increase in real terms -- provided a programme of reform is delivered.MPs will be told the Government has achieved its aim of wiping out the inherited multi-billion-pound defence deficit.This will allow a so-called “uplift” in the MoD’s future equipment budget, delivering, for example, 14 extra Chinook helicopters from 2014.By 2020, if the reserves develop in the way the Government hopes, it is envisaged that there will be a total force of around 120,000 broadly in the ratio 70:30 regular to reserve.

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Scotland to get new Army barracks at Kinloss base

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