Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has offered assurances to the communities around Leuchars that there will be no “gap” between the RAF withdrawing and the army arriving.
In an exclusive interview with The Courier at RAF Leuchars, he said the decision to move the army to Leuchars was a “good news story” in the face of major military cuts and said the impact on the Fife economy “should be broadly neutral”.
He said: “By making this a staged move and by making a commitment that the army’s arrival will be progressive, we are giving the best reassurances that we possibly can to the local community.”
Mr Hammond was also in Fife to give the signal to lower a 680-tonne bridge on to aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at Rosyth.
Mr Hammond congratulated the Fife workforce for helping to deliver the project ahead of schedule.
The defence secretary also said it made “perfect sense” to retain the Royal Marines at RM Condor in Arbroath.
He confirmed that military planners had considered locating all of the UK’s Royal Marines in one unspecified location. However, due to the absence of “unlimited amounts of money”, the basing review had been “refined” and the decision was made for the Arbroath-based marines to stay put.
For the full exclusive interview with Mr Hammond, see Friday’s Courier.