Petition to save Lyneham: Sign Now
Gazette and Herald
23rd August 2010
www.gazetteandherald.co.uk
The Wessex chambers of commerce across North Wiltshire have joined forces to campaign for replacement employment at Lyneham when the RAF vacates the base by 2012. They are worried that if the Lyneham base is left empty then the area will become a wasteland.

The economic impact on the North Wiltshire businesses and community will have a devastating effect, they say.

And local businesses which have relied on the base will fold, adding to the unemployment figures. The six chambers are united in trying to persuade the MoD to use Lyneham as an Army base after 2012.

It has been suggested that the Army in Germany could be brought home earlier than intended, which will save more than £250m a year, plus the fact the Army wants to merge some of the smaller technical bases in Wiltshire.

“The RAF will leave by 2012 and there needs to be a realistic plan to install new jobs on the site to offset any negative economic impact which is likely to have a devastating effect over a large area,” said Ian Storey, the area director for the North Wiltshire chambers and the president of Corsham Chamber of Commerce.

“The chambers of commerce have a number of ideas to put forward to the MoD and Wiltshire Council, including using the base for a combined Army occupation.

“The value of the current base, from an economic perspective, has been estimated at more than £90m a year and impacts on a large area, even down to Trowbridge and Devizes in the south.”

The petition, which started last week, has already been signed by more than 212 people.

"Save Lyneham"

The campaign’s online petition can be found at www.ipetitions.com/petition/savelyneham/signatures.