St Athan Arms testing, military jet training

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Next meeting Mon 20th July 6.00pm Temple of Peace, Cathays Park, Cardiff

News St Athan PFI Military College

1. locals unhappy with plans..more here... noise from arms testing, ambush training,military jet training
2. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) have agreed to fund clearance
of the site.. £12.5M. I hope this means some AMs will ask questions
3. Qinetiq consortium denies £1.3bn hole

1. locals unhappy with plans..more here

The Vale Council is currently considering the extensive planning application for the Defence Training College (DTC), and the public are being invited to express their views.
Coun Roger Eustace told The GEM: “There has been much local support for the DTC, but the previous public consultations and exhibitions made little mention of the type of military training – which was always presented as low level. “The goalposts have now changed.” ..

up to three military jet aircraft training on northern cross runway for up to four hours per day...
“The range will also be used for armament testing, including 5.56mm minigun and the larger calibre general purpose machine gun. .....The area will mainly be used for ambush training comprising noisy initial demonstrations followed by a few hours of dry drills. Typically, there will be eight demonstrations per day consisting of two Land Rovers being ambushed by one or two thunder flashes, with possibly blank small arms fire from SA80 rifles up to 30 rounds ..
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2.The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) have agreed to fund clearance
of the site

Rosalind Britton-Elliott Press Officer - Policy Desk Ministry of Defence : 020 7218 5903

DEPARTMENTAL MINUTE DATED 26 JUNE 2009 CONCERNING THE REPORTING
OF A CONTINGENT LIABILITY FOR THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
DEFENCE TRAINING REVIEW
There is also a requirement for MOD to deliver a clear site at St Athan
before construction work can begin.
The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) have agreed to fund clearance of the site,
with a pre-Financial Close maximum expenditure of £12.5M. WAG is, however, unwilling to
start work prior to Financial Close unless this work is underwritten by
MOD lest the Defence TrainingCollege fails to reach Financial Close.
MORE here http://www.antimetrix.org/

3. Qinetiq consortium denies £1.3bn hole

Government has offered Metrix an additional £44m of state guarantees – in effect promising to pay for preparatory work even if it scraps the deal.
Metrix has called its “fallback” plan “part of good project governance”.
So far the MoD has offered almost £100m of guarantees to Metrix.
more here http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c38a0078-6990-11de-bc9f-00144feabdc0.html

Wales Green Party Opposes Massive Military Academy

The Green Party is the only party in Wales that is porepared to spoeak out against this Military Academy

Wales Green Party passed the following motion at our AGM on Saturday last:

Wales Green Party hereby adopts a policy of opposition to the proposed Military Training Academy at St Athan.
The proposed Military Academy would be a privately run facility operated by the Metrix Consortium, which includes some of the world’s most powerful arms investors, including Carlyle Corporation, Quiniteq and Raytheon. Its effect upon the social, economic and educational infrastructure of South East Wales would be overwhelming and the educational establishments and places of employment in the region would find themselves called upon to serve the interests of the Academy above all other considerations.

The acceptance by the Welsh Assembly Government of the proposal to locate the Military Academy in Wales indicates a commitment to militarism which totally contradicts their constitutional commitment to sustainable development, plus commitments to responsible international citizenship and peace and justice.

Wales Green Party calls upon the Welsh Assembly Government to withdraw its support for the proposal to locate the Academy at St Athan.

Our Spokesperson is writing to the First Minister requesting that he petition the UK Government to reverse the decision to site the Academy in Wales.