§ 15. Mr. Peter Brooke (Cities of London and Westminster)When the RAF vacated RAF Chilmark; and when it envisages disposing of the site. [113703]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Lewis Moonie)RAF Chilmark closed in 1995. Parts of the site have already been sold, having been cleared of munitions, and it is envisaged that further areas, including the headquarters element of the site, will be 714 released for disposal later this year. It is anticipated that the final section of the site will come forward for disposal in 2002 or shortly thereafter.
§ Mr. BrookeThat news is extremely welcome. My understanding is that the cost of maintaining the site is of the order of £500,000. The fact that disposal is being brought forward will be welcomed in the neighbourhood.
§ Dr. MoonieIt is expensive to maintain such a site—about £490,000 per annum. The total cost of cleaning and preparing the site for sale in accordance with MOD policy over the past five years amounted to 371,460.