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From the Northern Scot Newspaper
‘Scot’ petition to save base nears 30,000 signatures
By Chris Saunderson
Published: 26 November, 2010
THE People’s Petition in support of RAF Lossiemouth has continued to gather momentum – and the number of signatures now stands at 26,638.
Forms have been flooding in from all corners of Moray and further afield.
They include one from Sydney, Australia, sent by Moray ex-pat Lynne Peterson.
She said: “I was born and bred in Lossie and have been living in Sydney Australia for 32 years.
“As a regular online reader of ‘The Northern Scot’, I am grateful for the ability to sign your Save RAF Lossiemouth petition.
“Based on the fantastic display of community support shown at the rally, I am hopeful that the Government will listen to the compelling and passionate argument of the Moray community,” she added.
There is still time to get any petition forms back in and plans are being formulated to deliver the petition to Downing Street.
The community around RAF Marham, the other main UK Tornado base, has also organised a petition in support of its local base and last week ‘The Eastern Daily Press’ turned its front page into a petition form.
Meanwhile, members of the Moray Task Force were due to meet senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore in London yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
The public agencies, businesses and community representatives which make up the Moray Task Force are already developing a package of measures to promote the area’s assets and sustain local business confidence.
And they insist that measures must be taken now to protect the local economy from the impact of defence cuts.
George McIntyre, convener of Moray Council, said: “The MoD has said it will be months before a final decision will be made about the future of the bases. However, we know that personnel and contractors at RAF Kinloss are already being told which jobs are threatened.
“While the MoD goes about this process behind the RAF gates, Moray and the community which has had the RAF at its heart for 70 years, is being left in limbo.”
“We have had no firm timescale from the MoD, there is no investment support in place from the Treasury, and measures needed to protect the region’s future cannot wait until the spring to be put in place.
“We know the excellent campaign from the Moray community has got the attention of national politicians and MoD officials. Now we need them to take action. Having announced the cancellation of the Nimrod there is a responsibility to protect our communities and our economy for the future.”
Calum MacPherson of Highlands and Islands Enterprise added: “The task force is focused on two strands of effort – supporting the campaign to keep the RAF in the area, and to do everything we can to reduce the impact of the proposed run down at Kinloss.
“The decision on Nimrod has been met with disbelief from many in the defence world. We have been told there is no hope of reversing that decision. The task force will continue to put forward the many arguments for keeping the RAF in Moray, but we must also look at how we sustain local confidence.”
‘Scot’ petition to save base nears 30,000 signatures
By Chris Saunderson
Published: 26 November, 2010
THE People’s Petition in support of RAF Lossiemouth has continued to gather momentum – and the number of signatures now stands at 26,638.
Forms have been flooding in from all corners of Moray and further afield.
They include one from Sydney, Australia, sent by Moray ex-pat Lynne Peterson.
She said: “I was born and bred in Lossie and have been living in Sydney Australia for 32 years.
“As a regular online reader of ‘The Northern Scot’, I am grateful for the ability to sign your Save RAF Lossiemouth petition.
“Based on the fantastic display of community support shown at the rally, I am hopeful that the Government will listen to the compelling and passionate argument of the Moray community,” she added.
There is still time to get any petition forms back in and plans are being formulated to deliver the petition to Downing Street.
The community around RAF Marham, the other main UK Tornado base, has also organised a petition in support of its local base and last week ‘The Eastern Daily Press’ turned its front page into a petition form.
Meanwhile, members of the Moray Task Force were due to meet senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore in London yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
The public agencies, businesses and community representatives which make up the Moray Task Force are already developing a package of measures to promote the area’s assets and sustain local business confidence.
And they insist that measures must be taken now to protect the local economy from the impact of defence cuts.
George McIntyre, convener of Moray Council, said: “The MoD has said it will be months before a final decision will be made about the future of the bases. However, we know that personnel and contractors at RAF Kinloss are already being told which jobs are threatened.
“While the MoD goes about this process behind the RAF gates, Moray and the community which has had the RAF at its heart for 70 years, is being left in limbo.”
“We have had no firm timescale from the MoD, there is no investment support in place from the Treasury, and measures needed to protect the region’s future cannot wait until the spring to be put in place.
“We know the excellent campaign from the Moray community has got the attention of national politicians and MoD officials. Now we need them to take action. Having announced the cancellation of the Nimrod there is a responsibility to protect our communities and our economy for the future.”
Calum MacPherson of Highlands and Islands Enterprise added: “The task force is focused on two strands of effort – supporting the campaign to keep the RAF in the area, and to do everything we can to reduce the impact of the proposed run down at Kinloss.
“The decision on Nimrod has been met with disbelief from many in the defence world. We have been told there is no hope of reversing that decision. The task force will continue to put forward the many arguments for keeping the RAF in Moray, but we must also look at how we sustain local confidence.”
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