MoD’s planning

Your story “At-risk Edinburgh barracks could be saved, says general” (2 December), says the army’s commanding officer in Scotland has cast doubt over the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) plans for its bases in Fife, Edinburgh and West Lothian.

We shall be contacting the MoD on behalf of the Federation of Small Businesses’ 5,000 members in the East of Scotland to seek urgent clarification on what is going on.

In your article, the army says it might not close its barracks in Edinburgh; it thinks the Kirknewton headquarters site “inappropriate”; it still wants a fighting headquarters in Scotland “at some point”; and “expects” soldiers to end up at Leuchars.

These comments make worse the already tortuous uncertainty of what the defence review will mean for the local communities of the east of Scotland. Local businesses need certainty in order to plan ahead and rebuild the local economy.

The military bases in the east of Scotland are significant parts of local communities and a great deal of planning has already begun following the defence review announcement by Liam Fox.

It looks like this work may have been in vain if the plans are all up for further review. For instance, it is estimated that RAF Leuchars is worth an annual £60 million to the local economy. If the RAF leaves and is not replaced at all then we need to know about this and soon.

The new headquarters at Kirknewton will form a key plank of the West Lothian economic plan for the future; if this is now in question then we need to know about that as well.

Local businesses across the region need to know what is going on and I urge the Ministry of Defence to make clear its plans as soon as possible.

Michael Dixon

Federation of Small Businesses in the East of Scotland

Canning Street

Edinburgh