RK/SJA/Cons/BD

9 March 2004

Ivor Caplin MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Ministry of Defence
Old War Office Building
Whitehall
London
SW1 A 2EU

Boscombe Down Airfield

I am increasingly concerned about encroachment on this site by civilian developments because it could have a very significant long-term impact on the viability of the substantial employment offered by the Ministry of Defence and Qinetiq at the heart of my constituency.

Please can you reassure me that someone in the Ministry of Defence - maybe Defence Estates, maybe someone else, is fully aware of this issue and taking a long-term, strategic view?

In a very few years, the only access to open country will be to the east. Only two decades ago the airfield was in open country with the only built up area being the ancient town of Amesbury. Now the airfield in boxed in by massive new housing development to the west, the new Solstice Park industrial complex to the north, the Porton Ranges (with their flying restrictions) to the south and shortly I anticipate the construction of a further 70 houses to the south-west of the airfield, just off the main runway. What concerns me about that is the implications for your ammunitions storage and the implications of further phases of development which surely impact on your freedom to use that end of the airfield for safe storage of explosives.

I know that Salisbury District Council, as planning authority, has been concerned about allowing housing development on this scale so close to an active military airfield. Whatever warnings are given, there are bound to be complaints from purchasers of those properties. Do you share my concerns? Have you liaised with Salisbury District Council about this?

I am also most concerned that a cemetery is planned close to the end of the main runway. I know this is not of your choosing - but it is just another illustration of the problem of encroachment on the airfield. Please can you reassure me that the Ministry of Defence or their agents have had proper discussions with the planning authority about this?

Now that strategic planning is passing out of the hands of the local authorities and into the hands of the South West Regional Assembly, what discussions has the Ministry of Defence had with that body about the future of all the Defence Estates in the south-west - but particularly (as far as I am concerned) about Salisbury Plain Training Estate, Boscombe Down and Porton Down (including Winterbourne Gunner).

The South Wiltshire community values very much the presence of the Ministry of Defence. We would not wish to see that compromised to the point where defence activity was forced out of the area.