§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate he has made of the on-going costs of operating the entire weapons range training requirement from RAF St. Athan;
(2) if he will estimate the costs involved in increasing the licensed weapons loading platforms and otherwise preparing the base at RAF St. Athan for the task of supporting weapons range training sorties.
709W
§ Mr. HanleyAs set out in the consultation document issued on 7 December 1993, the cost of preparing RAF St. Athan for use as a weapons detachment facility is estimated to be around £3,500,000. In addition, the associated annual operating costs are estimated to be £470,000. The savings from closing RAF Chivenor are assessed to be approximately £127 million, at net present values, over 10 years.