If re-elected on 8th June I will continue to fight the closure of local military sites.
Before I was elected back in 2010, the Defence Training Review suggested that the Royal Naval School of Engineering at HMS Sultan was set to move to south Wales - a potential loss of up to 900 local jobs in the process. I immediately embarked on a campaign to stop this relocation. Thankfully, this was successful and the Strategic Defence and Security Review concluded that RN School of Engineering should remain at Sultan where it continues to deliver essential training for service personnel to a level that has been rated 'Outstanding' by OFSTED.
However in November 2016, "The Better Local Defence Estate Plan" was published which revealed that HMS Sultan and Fort Blockhouse would be disposed of in the next 10 years. Since then I have been meeting with Ministers and MOD officials as well as urging the Government to reconsider its decision. I have also set up a Taskforce with a view to put a plan in place for the best possible outcome for the site.
In January 2017 I made a detailed submission to the Public Accounts Committee explaining my concerns about the decision regarding HMS Sultan and Fort Blockhouse. In a debate in February, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, explained that the business cases for disposing of both sites remain unclear, highlighting the Ofsted-rated excellent training at HMS Sultan as an important reason not to dispose of the site.
While I do agree there is potential for commercial investment in Fort Blockhouse to generate employment for the local community, this will only be realised if the waterside part of the site was part of the sale. However the proposed disposal of HMS Sultan would be huge a detriment to Gosport, the MoD and the Royal Navy and therefore if re-elected on 8th June, I will continue to fight the closure of HMS Sultan and plot the best future for Blockhouse.
