HC Deb 20 June 1994 vol 245 cc61-2W
Mr. Jamieson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what consultations his Department has had with the Department of National Heritage concerning the siting of a naval firing range off Dodman point in Cornwall;

(2) what is his estimate of the total savings to his Department of resiting a naval firing range off Dodman point in Cornwall from Lulworth cove in Dorset;

(3) what consultations his Department has had with the Department of the Environment concerning the siting of a naval firing range off Dodman point in Cornwall;

(4) what assessment his Department has made of the impact on the local economy of the siting of a naval firing range off Dodman point in Cornwall;

(5) if he will make a statement about his Department's decision to resite the Navy's firing range from Lulworth cove in Dorset to the sea area off Dodman point in Cornwall;

(6) if he will name all the sites which are being considered as a naval firing range to replace the current range at Lulworth in Dorset.

Mr. Hanley

The proposal to establish a new naval gunfire support training area has arisen as a result of the decision to move the Royal Navy operational sea training organisation from Portland to Plymouth, which will require transfer of training currently conducted at sea off Portland to exercise areas in the channel south of Plymouth. The move will involve the transfer of some 280 RN personnel to the Plymouth area, and will create an estimated 100 civilian jobs there, as well as bringing additional revenue to the areas.

As well as undertaking extensive consultations locally, my Department has also consulted the Department of Transport, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the habitat protection branch and the water resources and marine division of the Department of the Environment. We did not consult the Department of National Heritage as it has no locus in this matter.

The financial savings involved in establishing the new range, as opposed to continuing to use the current site at Lulworth, are difficult to quantify precisely. We expect, however, that the saving in man hours and fuel alone could be as much as £500,000 per annum. Also, were the task not transferred to the new range, there would be significant operational penalties elsewhere in the Navy's programme as a result of the greater amount of resources necessary to complete the NGS task.

After a preliminary survey of the whole coast area from Lizard to Start Point, we have also given careful consideration to several alternative sites to that proposed off Dodman. These included Bolt Head, Bolt Tail, HMS Cambridge, Rame Head and the Eddystone Lighthouse. Each of these sites proved unsuitable, however, for various reasons.

There has been local concern about the potential impact of this proposal on the local economy. As it is the Navy's intention to work round, rather than to disrupt, the activities of fishing and commercial vessels and of leisure craft, we would expect there to be very little impact on Cornwall's economy.

The formal phase of the public consultation period has now ended, and the various representations are being considered. We shall look very carefully at all the factors before making a final decision.