News from cosford

News - A Welcome Boost for Cosford
Today’s edition of the Shropshire Star reports that plans to move defence training to South Wales could now be axed. Union officials have welcomed the news and the boost it gives to RAF Cosford’s chances of survival as a military base:
A Government source has said the £14 billion private finance initiative project, awarded by the Labour administration, is unlikely to be given the green light by the present Conservative/Lib Dem coalition because of the huge costs.
It opens up the possibility of studies for a much lower cost replacement which could mean a reprieve for RAF Cosford and secure its future. Mr O’Harney said they believed the programme for the new facility at St Athan had been flawed since its inception.
He said the cost of the facility had soared from £11bn to £14bn in the space of three years.

The source said: “The logic for something on that site remains compelling. The model does not. It’s not impossible that something will go ahead – but it won’t be a gargantuan PFI.”
St Athan has been viewed as vulnerable as the coalition is keen to axe £20bn of defence contracts structured as PFIs – and the St Athan project is not yet under contract.
The full article can be viewed here