RAF base closure hits 1,700 jobs

Many jobs at the RAF base will relocate to High Wycombe

An RAF base is to close with the loss of up to 1,700 posts, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The personnel and training command at RAF Innsworth, in Gloucestershire, is to be relocated to RAF High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire.

The MoD said the decision would save £420m over 25 years and make the RAF command more efficient.

The merger, due by October next year, will result in the loss of 1,000 posts, with further posts gone by 2008.

Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said in a statement: "The decision to relocate will deliver significant efficiency savings and a more modern and effective command headquarters structure for the RAF.

'Ill-considered decision'

"I recognise that this announcement will cause disappointment in the Innsworth area. We are doing everything possible to mitigate the impact on the staff concerned."

RAF Innsworth has a 70-year history. In 1945 5,000 staff were working at the base.

One civilian employee, Tony Honey, said: "There are people who've been here many a year and who've been cast aside. They've now got to seek new careers."

The Public and Commercial Services trade union said it "hopes that it is not too late to reverse this ill-considered decision".

Phil Hanman, president of Gloucester Chamber of Commerce, said: "This will have a ripple effect.

"It will impact on the social fabric of the city as well as the business community.

"That many job losses affects families, schools and suppliers."