THE redevelopment of Whitehill and Bordon could be 10 years away because the Army will not be ready to leave in 2012, according to a Ministry of Defence employee and civil service trade unionist. And this week, East Hampshire District Council leader Ferris Cowper said the Army would not leave the town before 2013 - the year after the hitherto assumed 2012. Bordon resident and member of the Public and Commercial Services Union Steve Robinson told The Herald: "2012 is a massively optimistic date for the Army to leave. I know that because no contracts have been signed and, therefore, not one brick has been laid in the new accommodation site in Wales. Even if the contract is signed in April 2009, it will take another five years at least to get the site ready. Nothing will happen in the immediate future - I don't think they'll move within the next 10 years. "I do believe that the Army will eventually go, but a move of this size is a logistical nightmare and we're not sure where the council (East Hampshire district) is getting its figures. "Until the removal trucks come and begin packing everything away, I simply won't believe it." Mr Cowper rejected the claim that the move could be 10 years away, stating: "Just about all employees of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) like to give their personal opinion of the likely departure date. If I listened to them all I would be in a real mess. We have close relationships with SEME (the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, which has its headquarters at the Bordon Garrison in Budds Lane) and also with Defence Estates (responsible for the MoD's land) and we have off-the-record comments from very senior personnel, as well as the official statements. We also have excellent links directly into the government. Our plans are based on these sources - it would be ridiculous to work to any other timescale. "At present, the SEME relocation timetable fits with the first phase of eco towns. However, this is a rapidly changing scenario and we monitor it frequently." Mr Robinson also claimed that tank-driver training will continue to operate from Bordon, compromising the reduced carbon emissions of the eco town. Mr Cowper responded: "First of all, the fate of driver training is not yet decided. Second, it would be ridiculous to assume that a town cannot have any carbon-emitting sources. "The idea that all cars and other vehicles would be banned from all areas because they emit carbon misunderstands the intent. "We may try to make the newly developed town centre pedestrians only, or at least free of any carbon-emitting vehicle, but outside the town centre there will still be cars." Mr Robinson also raised concerns that the economy of the town will suffer following the departure of the Army because the population will drop by around 1,500. "We don't have any idea what the loss of the soldiers and their families will do to the town, but there's a danger that the decline in people could lead to shop closures," he said. "I believe that Bordon is a forgotten blip on the map, and we need to make sure that Bordon does not stagnate as we wait for the new development and infrastructure." Mr Cowper said: "Obviously, this interim situation is a major concern. We are lobbying hard for government economic support in the short term, commencing from before SEME start to leave and concluding with the establishment of new employers and new industries. "This will include reskilling the local workforce in preparation for the changes. Many of the jobs that will be lost are held by people who live outside the town, but we will have to deal with a serious unemployment situation in a town with, currently, less that 2 per cent unemployment. "On top of that, we also know that there are many businesses which earn their living as suppliers to SEME and there is a whole economic chain downstream from the school. This is part of our case to the government for short-term economic, employment and reskilling assistance. "Our plans for an eco town accord almost perfectly with the SEME relocation plans. All projects of this nature, whether in the public sector or private sector, rely on plans being made and assumptions being made."
