28/08/2009

Call for public enquiry Address St Athan Options Fairly

Address St Athan Options Fairly
Keeping the Defence Training College development within the St Athan site boundary (‘within the wire’) is quite feasible. But WAG’s grand plans and land purchases were based on winning both Packages 1 and 2. Once Package 2 was dropped and Package 1 scaled down to 2500 on-site trainees (max), WAG could have omitted the peripheral road and avoided developing the western green fields.

Yet the WAG planners at the ‘consultative’ exhibitions showed themselves wedded to the grander scheme and to spending an extra £10-20 million public money. They refused to consider restricting development to within the wire, using the short access at West Camp as Ann Barnaby and STAG propose (Gem letter 27 Aug.).

Under Environmental Impact Assessment law, the Vale Council planners could have required them to supply full information on this option. But Gordon Kemp’s welcome to the applications as Council Leader effectively told them to make the ride easy.

The substantial housing and road developments outside the wire are a serious departure from the existing development plan (UDP) and could be said to “significantly prejudice” the UDP by reason of scale, nature or location. WAG could therefore call it in for a public inquiry, but being developers could hardly decide this fairly.

By rights, the Vale Council might defer a decision pending the new development plan (LDP) passing through its consultation and inquiry processes. Seeing a decision is more urgent, the public are entitled to have this major departure called in for public inquiry under the Planning Inspectorate.

Certainly, one can argue “planning issues of more than local importance”, with possible “wide effects” and “substantial controversy” beyond the immediate locality and even “issues of national security”. These are all points in the official Planning Policy Wales.

There’s a challenge to people who are undecided or support the Training College in principle – would you also in fairness support the right for objectors and alternatives to be heard at a public inquiry under the planning inspectorate?

Max Wallis

NEW Sain Tathan Action Group (S.T.A.G.)

Sain Tathan Action Group (S.T.A.G.)
http://www.wix.com/stathan/STAG

contact here
st.athan@live.co.uk

Chris Franks AM Plaid Cymru shocked by road plans! But not shocked about military training being privatised and run by ratheon arms makers and war profiteers!

Chris franks AM not shocked about the militarisation of Wales and theat meaning no way for welsh independence of any kind!

Chris Franks from Plaid lies..no principles party

Chris Franks AM visited Millands Park, Llanmaes 10th August to meet the residents and see for himself the route and likely impact of the proposed Northern Access Road. This road will cross green-fields and result in considerable noise and light pollution affecting the residents of Millands Park as well as much of Llanmaes, Eglwys Brewis and Boverton.

This road will mean that all transport for the Defence Technical College and Aerospace Park will travel some 5km further, with considerably increased carbon emissions, than if the access road was built from the South, to the East of the existing West Camp entrance. Plans for such an alternative route, crossing a brown field site have been drawn up by local resident David Harris and have been supported by Llanmaes Community Council and local resident groups. They can be viewed on the website www.wix.com/StAthan/stag

Chris Franks, Plaid Cymru Regional AM for South Wales Central who lives in the Vale, had previously met Millands Park residents when they presented petitions to the National Assembly and to the Vale of Glamorgan Council. He stated that he strongly supports their campaign to change the route of the access road. Their campaign also has the strong support of Llanmaes Community Council. Mr Franks said that he was really shocked by the plans for the Road and for the adjacent service family housing developments when brown field sites were available. He agreed that the developments should take place within the existing St Athan camp boundaries.




26/08/2009

Raytheon and the lobbists

The Defense Industry's Secret Weapon: Lobbyists http://su.pr/1eDI1D

he Defense Industry's Secret Weapon

How a top Pentagon official—and former Raytheon lobbyist—is undermining vital reform at the DOD.

Note this story and remember New Labour and with the blessing of ALL AMs happily
waiting for Raytheon coming to Wales to train Btitish Troops in the biggest PFI ever!

Shame on Plaid welcoming militarisation and privatisation of the military to Wales..and the Metrix Consortium..

This pork barrelling by New Labour supported by drummer boy ..

John Smith MP and all AMs.


20/08/2009

Privatisation of military speeds up

Not a word from Plaid Cymru AMs or MPs on this..so much for their opposition to PFI and militarisation of Wales....no almighty uproar.....? Why? More important things to do like twittering about their blackberry's!
If they hadn't kept so quiet on this we might have stopped it....blood on plaid cymru hands.... as more of our young people will be enticed in to the military to be canon fodder. And there goes Welsh independence with this UK training base in Wales.
QinetiQ Group: Metrix Awarded GBP31 Million Training Pact By MOD
CNNMoney.com - USA
-The Early Training Transformation (ETT) contract will see the consortium, the Preferred Bidder for the MOD's DTR Package 1 Project, take the first ...

QinetiQ and Sodexo JV Metrix wins £31 mln MoD training contract
Proactive Investors UK - London,England,UK
The financial close on the overall DTR programme remains on track for 2010, ... TheDTR Package 1 Project aims to transform the way the MoD delivers ...

Metrix is a consortium led by QinetiQ, which leads the training delivery arm and Sodexo, an international facilities management group, and war profiteer chosen by the MoD to provide training design and development services. It will also build and run the MoD's Defence Technical College in St Athan, South Wales

18/08/2009

Metrix £31m contract

Are we safe in Ainsworths hands...
no end of money for a project that MoD think will not be effective and actually put our troops at risk!
And lead to the militarisation of Wales.

Early training
The Engineer - London,UK
The Early
Training Transformation (ETT) contract forms part of the Defence Training Review (DTR) Package 1 private finance initiative (PFI) project that ...






Metrix, a joint venture between Qinetiq and Sodexo, has secured a £31m contract from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to improve technical trade training.

The Early Training Transformation (ETT) contract forms part of the Defence Training Review (DTR) Package 1 private finance initiative (PFI) project that aims to improve the way the MoD delivers specialist engineering, communications and information systems training.

Graham Love, Qinetiq’s chief executive, said: ‘We are delighted that Metrix has been awarded the ETT contract. It is a significant vote of confidence from the MoD in the consortium’s ability to begin to introduce improvements to training delivery as we continue to move forward to financial close on the overall DTR programme, which remains on track for 2010.’

The DTR programme is aimed at training more than 20,000 students a year at the MoD’s Defence Technical College base in St Athan, South Wales. The ETT contract will provide improvements to current training methods through training provider Raytheon as a subcontractor for the work.

Brigadier Tony Harking, the leader of the integrated project team that manages the DTR Package1 project, said: ‘In order to be ready for the move to St Athan in 2014, it is necessary to undertake a degree of training transformation early, hence ETT. ETT will provide both parties with greater confidence that the process is successful when applied to British forces' technical training.’
Bob Ainsworth: we will win in Afghanistan
Telegraph.co.uk
However, the landmark figure of 200 deaths has resulted in calls for a
review of Britain's continued role in Afghanistan. Liam Fox, the shadow defence ...
See all stories on this topic

Metrix awarded £31m training contract
WebWire (press release) - Atlanta,GA,USA
... as part of the Defence Training Review (DTR) Package 1 PFI Project. The Early TrainingTransformation (ETT) contract will see the consortium, ...

17/08/2009

Raytheon MOD Contract coming to to Wales soon


LONDON (SHARECAST) - Metrix, a joint venture between defence technology group QinetiQ and facilities management group Sodexo, has won a £31m contract from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The contract is part of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Training Review (DTR) Package 1 PFI Project.

The DTR Package 1 Project aims to transform the way the MoD delivers specialist engineering, communications and information systems training on a Defence-wide basis.

Metrix will use Raytheon, the US technology company specialising in defence, homeland security and global training services, as the main sub-contractor to undertake the work which will provide the foundations to enable QinetiQ-led teams to deliver the technical trade training.

Ask the public..Raytheon make weapons to kill people, cluster bombs, war profiteers...
No mention of what this costing the public.