Residents must be told about Army move to protect village (Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@cambslibdems.org.uk>

Residents must be told about Army move to protect village

January 24, 2012 12:01 PM

Michael Williamson A Cambridgeshire County Councillor has called for better communication between the military and Waterbeach residents as the Army prepares to pull out of the village.

Michael Williamson, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Waterbeach and a governor ofWaterbeachPrimary School, fears the move could jeopardise the future of businesses and the school as Army personnel and their families prepare to leave the barracks.

But he says there has been no official confirmation of a date for the move or whether new families will move in to military housing.

"This move will have serious implications for the future of the village primary school, potentially removing up to one third of the pupils and reducing funding," he said.

"It will also affect local businesses and the village pubs. The military personnel bring a large amount of business to the village and that could be lost virtually overnight.

"The military has been a welcome and important part of this village community since the RAF came here in the 1940s and then the Army in the 1960s. We have heard that some of the personnel will be moved to RAF Wittering and others to Kinloss inScotlandbut we have had no official confirmation of the dates of the moves.

"We need to know when the move will happen and whether military housing will be available for other families who could bring new pupils for the school and new trade for our village businesses."

Waterbeach Barracks is being closed, as part of Ministry of Defence cuts. There are also proposals to develop the site for over 12,000 new homes.

Residents have warned that a development of this size would change the face of the village and create a town the size ofNewmarketor Ely. It could also create gridlock on the already overstretched A10.

Cllr Williamson, who is fighting the plans, said that such a development would require up to five new primary schools and a new secondary school.