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Agenda item

Economy and Enterprise

Defence Technical Training Centre at Lyneham

 

Capt John Sunderland RN (Chief of Staff, Defence Technical Training Change Programme) will present details about the establishment of a tri-service technical training centre at Lyneham.

 

Integration of the Lyneham Defence Technical Training Centre   with the Local Community

 

Support measures for the integration of the new military community with the local civilian community will be discussed with contributions from the MOD and Lyneham Steering Group.

 

Wiltshire Council Support for the Local Economy

 

Alistair Cunningham, Wiltshire Council Service Director for Economy and Enterprise will outline Wiltshire Council activities supporting the local economy.

Minutes:

The main theme for the evening was Economy and Enterprise, which included a presentation from the MOD on the future plans for the RAF Lyneham site.

 

Presentations were received as follows:

 

·         Capt John Sunderland RN, Chief of Staff, Defence Technical Training Change Programme.

·         Stephen Harness, Senior Town & Country Planner, Defence Infrastructure Organisation.

·         Ian Cambrook, Military Civilian Intervention (MCI) Programme Manager, Wiltshire Council.

·         Alistair Cunningham, Service Director Economy & Enterprise, Wiltshire Council.

 

Please see Appendix 1 to the minutes for summary details of the MOD presentations that were given.

 

Following the presentations, a question and answer session was held, which provided an opportunity for questions to be asked of any of the guest speakers. The following is a summary of the key points and issues that arose from this session:

 

·         There was some concern regarding the level of policing for the area with the RAF site being vacant, particularly considering the additional cuts to the number of Wiltshire Police Officers that would happen by the end of the financial year. This was acknowledged as an urgent issue and was currently being considered. Wiltshire Police reported that the Neighbourhood Policing Team would remain in place, but was keen for the MOD to replace the Police Officer as soon as possible.

·         The presentation of the site, including features such as the Comet at the main entrance, would be considered along with the overall plans of the site and would need to take into account all of the services which would be based at the site.

·         Facilities for young people, such as the bowling alley, were acknowledged as urgent issues for the local community and were in the process of being considered.

·         Defence Technical Training services were being withdrawn from a number of stations around the country, but this should not necessarily be taken to assume that those stations would close altogether.

·         The Secretary of State’s announcement that Defence Technical Training would move to Lyneham should go some way to reassure the community that there was a commitment and intention to progress these plans, but there was a lot of work to be done to get there.

·         Concern was raised regarding the number of children anticipated to come to the area, and the mechanisms for preparing for their education. Unfortunately the MOD posting methods were complex and it was not always possible to provide schools with forewarning of new pupils, but this was recognised as an important issue and efforts would be made to minimise the impacts on the children and on the local schools.

·         Wiltshire Council was working hard to mitigate the impact of the changes that were happening at RAF Lyneham, such as support for local businesses, working with the Chambers of Commerce, developing an Incubation Centre in Royal Wootton Bassett to assist new businesses and the ‘Fredricks Wiltshire’ fund to provide funds for businesses that wanted to expand.

·         It was acknowledged that much of the MOD housing in Lyneham would remain occupied during the transition period which should minimise the impact on local businesses. A number of contractors would also be coming to the area during the development stages of the project which would also go some way to help the local economy.

·         Local businesses were encouraged to join their local Chamber of Commerce, and to determine what the main concerns were and work together to achieve positive outcomes during the difficult times. Working with neighbouring community areas was also encouraged.

·         The closure of the Hive in September was causing some concern for the local community. This was recognised as an issue for local people and was currently being considered along with the other local issues that had been identified by the community.

·         Some concern was raised regarding the security of the site whilst it remained unoccupied during the transition period, particularly with the increase in scrap metal crimes. It was reported that the houses would mostly remain occupied which should help with security issues, but the security of the main site was currently being discussed in detail as part of the developing plans for site, though detailed arrangements for continuing security could not be made public.

·         The size and layout of the site did allow for some flexibility in its use, and there was a possibility that other services could be based there that would potentially attract visitors.

·         Part of the normal planning process for the site would include a full transport assessment and a study of the impact of people travelling to and around the site. It was hoped that sustainable modes of travel would be used where possible.

 

Finally, Councillor Allison Bucknell, as the local member for Lyneham, encouraged local people, groups and businesses to feed any questions or issues they might have in to the Lyneham Steering Group. Details of the Lyneham Steering Group were available through the local councillors.

 

Please see Appendix 2 for a list of frequently asked questions regarding the future plans for RAF Lyneham.

 

The Chairman thanked all of the guest speakers for attending the meeting and for contributing to such a valuable discussion.