Concern that MoD might retreat from Fort George

THERE ARE fears that the Ministry of Defence is again considering pulling out of historic Fort George near Inverness.

The possibility of an Army retreat from the spectacular military stronghold led yesterday to a Scottish government minister meeting with Defence Minister Mark Lancaster to demand answers.

That meeting in London was still going on as The Inverness Courier went to press.

The fort survived a closure attempt in a forces spending review in 2011.

The SNP’s Keith Brown, minister for infrastructure, investment and cities at Holyrood, said he learned that the MoD was considering pulling the Army out of the base, currently home to more than 300 men of the Black Watch, when he attended a meeting of First Base, a local liaison group between the Army and the community.

The reports also raised fears about the future of the Black Watch (3 Scots)

Highland councillor Roddy Balfour, whose ward takes in Ardersier – the garrison village beside the fort, said yesterday that he heard rumours of a pull-out earlier this week.

But he had also heard that there was money coming to improve conditions at Fort George.

He said: “It is a big disappointment if this is true, but I think we have to take it with a pinch of salt at the moment. We fought to safe the fort a few years ago.

“I am a member of the Reserve Forces Association and it was mentioned there that money was allocated for Fort George to be brought up to a proper standard.

“It would be blow to the area if the regiment was to go.

“The fort has a tremendous firing range and other state-of-the-art training simulators. A tremendous amount of money has gone into the range and refurbishing the fort already, and I think the MoD would be very stupid to pull out now.

“I do hope that with all the SNP MPs in London, we can put pressure on them not to let this happen.”

Neither the MoD nor Historic Environment Scotland who operate the fort for Scottish Ministers responded in time for our requests for comment.

In a letter from Mr Brown to UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon he said: “When we met in February, we discussed laydown of defence estate and personnel in Scotland in light of the Footprint Strategy and wider MoD reforms. This remains a concern for the Scottish Government and we agreed that MoD would involve us in decision-making.

“I was deeply disappointed to learn through the local Firm Base meeting that Fort George, home of the Black Watch, is at risk in the latest round of MoD reforms.

“This base has been in continuous use as a garrison for almost 250 years, so any decision for the Army to vacate the site would have huge significance in Scotland. “There are also considerable practical consequences for the Scottish Government.

“Fort George is operated by Historic Environment Scotland, under a scheme of delegation from Scottish Ministers who retain ultimate responsibility for the site.

“This decision, if taken, would have a major impact on our ability to maintain the site.

“I would therefore expect MoD ministers to discuss this with Scottish ministers well before decisions are made.”

Mr Brown also expressed concern about the future of the famous Black Watch regiment (3 Scots), if the fort ceased to be a military base. He added in his letter: “Successive defence reviews have seen the Scottish regiments decimated, and I would like to seek assurances that the status and personnel of the Black Watch will not be downgraded.

Fort George is also home to the Highlanders’ Military Museum, which is considered to be one of the foremost collections of military artefacts in the UK.

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