Fife Council under pressure in bid to persuade Ministry of Defence to retain RAF Leuchars
Fife Council faces a race against time to submit its case for saving RAF Leuchars.
The Eurofighter Typhoon.
- By Aileen Robertson
- Published in the Courier : 24.01.11
- Published online : 24.01.11 @ 08.42am
Over the next few days the local authority will be rushing to put together the strongest argument possible to convince the Ministry of Defence to keep the base open.
Leader of the SNP-Lib Dem administration Councillor Peter Grant expressed his disappointment that defence secretary Liam Fox had not responded to his request for a meeting on the issue.
He also criticised the MoD for taking too long to reply to a council request for information about aspects of the base, including personnel.
However, he said the council, along with the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise, would be able to use the information received from the MoD last week to carry out a detailed assessment of the contribution RAF Leuchars makes to the local economy.
"It is disappointing that Dr Fox has not responded to my request for a meeting to discuss the future of RAF Leuchars," Mr Grant said. "It is also disappointing
that the MoD was unable to reply fully to our request within the deadline set by the Freedom of Information Act.
"This means there will be even less time to prepare a case—but it will not deter us from developing the submission which we hope the MoD will take into account in their decision-making process.
"There is full cross-party support in Fife for the case for retention of RAF Leuchars as a key strategic defence base."
The region's politicians and business leaders have united in the campaign to save the base after the UK Government's defence review put a question mark over its future.
RAF Leuchars employs 1560 service personnel and 220 civilian staff and it is feared its closure would devastate the local economy.
Leaked MoD reports have suggested it could be sacrificed to save threatened RAF Lossiemouth in Moray.
First Minister Alex Salmond has been calling for the retention of both Leuchars and Lossiemouth, and has highlighted the considerable investment that has gone into the bases in recent years.
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