An influx of army personnel at Leuchars could help to transform the fortunes of the town, it has been claimed.
Local councillor Tim Brett says that a major expansion of the Fife barracks will help businesses and attract investment for better housing in the community.
It follows Monday’s announcement by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon that several MoD sites will close, with Leuchars poised to become home to significant numbers of additional staff, as well as supply and vehicle support units.
Mr Brett said any bolstering of numbers would be a welcome shot in the arm for the town.
“I’m sure the people of Leuchars will welcome this,” he said.
“The town has about 800 army personnel but some businesses are still finding things difficult.
“Any more investment here will hopefully help them.
“I hope that this will bring more investment to Leuchars.
“I know that there is a programme of investment at the moment but there is a large number of houses that are vacant and I hope that they can be used.”
The expansion of Leuchars will be a slow one, with the closure of four major army bases expected to take place over several years.
While expressing sympathy for those affected by the pending closures, Mr Brett said that he hoped that the losses experienced by those communities would be Fife’s gain.
“We went through the same thing when the RAF decision was made and we know that will be very difficult for them,” he added.
“Michael Fallon has talked about the need for concentrating any resources in regional bases and I would hope that Leuchars will become one of these.”
The leader of Fife Council, David Ross, has also stated his pleasure at the possible expansion of Leuchars, however, he also warned that forward planning would be required if local resources are to cope with a larger population in the town.
He said: “We are pleased that Leuchars has been identified as having room to host further units.
“I would emphasise the need for early engagement in the lead up to any further units coming to Leuchars to enable us to work together to assess the likely impacts on the community and on demand for services such as education.”
jowatson@thecourier.co.uk.
