US servicemen return to sub base

The US submarine base was closed in 1992

More than 200 former American servicemen have arrived in Dunoon for a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Holy Loch submarine base.

When it closed in 1992, there were fears that the economy of the west coast's Cowal Peninsula would collapse.

But there is strong evidence that the government's rescue package has worked.

The US Navy called the Holy Loch nuclear submarine base in Argyll, Site One.

It was vital during the Cold War, but it was closed when the Trident missile system replaced Polaris and the Soviet Union collapsed.

Navy personnel

Up to 700 American navy personnel and their families lived in the Cowal Peninsula, hugely influencing local economy.

On closure the government allocated £12m to re-create employment prospects.

BBC Scotland's Social Affairs Correspondent Reevel Alderson said: "Ten years on, as former American sailors return to dedicate a cairn, Dunoon has largely shrugged off the closure of the base they're commemorating.

"Tourism infrastructure includes a new marina where submarines used to berth. But the most significant new employer is a high-tech contact centre business, TSC.

"Located in a building constructed with the government cash - and the base's former medical centre - it offers well-paid jobs almost totalling those lost when the Americans left the Holy Loch."