The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Condor base fears as housing bid revealed
MOD: Documents show plan for 2,500 homes on airfield
Bombshell documents have revealed a plan which could see thousands of new homes built on land at Arbroath’s RM Condor.
Ministry of Defence (MOD) chiefs are lining up a handover of the former airfield at the Angus base after declaring it surplus to requirements. It has led to fresh fears over the long-term future of the elite unit’s presence in Angus due to the loss of training ground at the base.
Condor’s future was on the agenda of a high-level Holyrood meeting late last year to thrash out MOD estate deals. Under the Angus proposal, 2,500 homes and other industrial facilities could be built.
Angus South SNP MSP Graeme Dey said: “This is ill-thought out at many levels”.
A leaked report has cast a dark shadow over the long-term future of Arbroath’s military base.
Secret documents, seen by The Courier, have revealed plans for the transfer of a huge chunk of land at the complex for the construction of thousands of new homes. The move has placed a question mark over 45 RM Commando’s presence at the base.
A meeting held behind closed doors at Holyrood in December involved local authority leaders, Lord Duncan, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland, and Keith Brown MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, and discussed wideranging aspects of the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) estate in Scotland.
The future of Fife facilities including RAF Leuchars and tri-service MOD facility Caledonia were also subject of the high-level discussion.
The papers show the airfield section of the base is to be decontaminated by the UK Government and handed over, free of charge, to Angus Council, paving the way for the construction of around 2,500 homes. Space for business units is also believed to be earmarked.
This has led to concerns about the long-term future, as land used for specialist vehicle storage and training, as well as urban warfare training facilities are thought to be part of the housing land parcel, drastically reducing the military footprint.
Angus South SNP MSP Graeme Dey said he considered the plan “ill-thought through on a variety of levels.”
“If the site is to be disposed of, better it is handed over to Angus Council for a purpose that will benefit the local community than sold to a private developer,” he said.
“The proposal makes no sense in terms of the usage made of that area of the base and such an action will have practical and significant financial implications for the Marines and MOD.
“The land in question is home to a 100-acre Queens Diamond Jubilee Native Woodland, planted in 2012 and the subject of a 15-year lease held by the Woodland Trust. Do they intend to try and tear up that agreement and the woodland with it ?
“Whilst the airstrip itself may be redundant, the surrounding area is heavily utilised and disposing of it will have significant logistical and financial consequences.
“The land immediately around the airstrip includes an area where marines hone their driving skills.
“It also the location of a number of hangars which, amongst other things, host a bespoke indoor training centre where marines practice unarmed combat and the techniques used in clearing buildings in urban warfare environments.
“For the MOD to say it is surplus to military requirements is nonsense.
“Either these facilities will have to be re-established elsewhere in what remains of the base, with all the accompanying capital expenditure costs, or 45 Commando will have to travel to train with all the hassle and costs that would entail.
Angus Council leader Bob Myles, said: “I sought, and received, assurances that RM Condor would retain the Royal Marines at Condor, and I welcome this assurance.”