THE closure of British Aerospace Dunsfold is "not inevitable" and will be "strongly fought", the Amalgamated Electrical and Engineering Union, which represents the majority of the company's 1,000-strong workforce, said this week.

AEEU spokesman Jay Hodgkins said he and fellow union representatives were due to meet senior managers at Dunsfold on Wednesday to discuss the closure plans, which will mean the loss of more than 900 jobs, in more detail.

He said: "We have got a long way to go yet and we are not saying we will accept the closure as inevitable.

"All we can do at the moment is play it by ear. There is enormous resistance from the workforce at Dunsfold, which has been conducting a campaign to save the site for over a month when closure was first being threatened."

He continued: "The curtain is set to come down in 18 months but there is a lot we can do in that time should closure prove to be inevitable."

Mr Hodgkins pointed out that Dunsfold specialises in building the Harrier, a "very valuable plane".

"Plans to maintain that work but at other sites would not be acceptable to us," he stressed.

Mr Hodgkins added: "This is likely to drag on for ages and will be a very difficult time for the staff at Dunsfold."

The shock announcement came as a devastating blow to the 950 employees, who were given the news last Thursday after it was decided the site could no longer be run viably.

The closure announcement is a culmination of a progressive decline in orders for new and upgraded Harriers and an increasingly competitive marketplace.

A brief sent to all employees explained that a "substantial amount of effort" had been spent looking at ways to sustain a competitive capability at the site, but these had failed to generate the necessary workload required to keep the aerodrome running.

Other options had also been considered, including resizing and reshaping the site, but these had also failed to provide a practical solution.

The site closure at Dunsfold is expected to take 18 months to complete, during which time packages of work will be transferred to other sites.

One member of staff said the news had left her and her colleagues "very shocked and very saddened", although they had been promised staff would try to be kept within the company.

Another employee said he was facing a "dreadful period of uncertainty".

"We just don't know what's going to happen and at the end of the day it's our jobs on the line," he added.

A spokesman for Dunsfold Aerodrome said although the news had come as a shock, the workload had been "diminishing" in the last year.

"We are competing in a tougher market and have felt vulnerable," she admitted.

The company will try to transfer employees to other sites in Lancashire, Humberside and Farnborough, but the decision to move would be "down to the individuals".

Although it is not yet known what will happen to the site if the plans for closure go ahead, the spokesman said the terms of the planning consent stated the site must revert to agricultural land.

South West Surrey MP Virginia Bottomley and Guildford MP Nick St Aubyn have also joined forces to fight the closure, and have taken the matter up with Defence Secretary George Robertson and the chairman of British Aerospace, Sir Richard Evans.

Mrs Bottomley is also seeking an adjournment debate to question the government on the matter at Westminster.

She added: "This is far from the outcome we hoped for and I will continue to search for ways to lessen the hardships for those constituents directly affected by this dire news."

Waverley Borough Council's chief executive Christine Pointer, said British Aerospace had been an "integral part" of south-west Surrey for 45 years and was the largest employer in Waverley.

"About 25 per cent of the 950 Dunsfold employees live in the borough and the closure will have a ripple-effect impact on the general employment position, local suppliers and the community.

"British Aerospace is a significant contributor to the local economy and as well as those in direct employment, there are a number of contracts with local companies which are likely to be affected."

She added: "As the local authority, Waverley will do all it can to help those affected by the closure, and is likely to carry out a study on the economic and site implications."