Moray needs a diverse economy

THE DUST has settled on the decisions to save RAF Lossie and use Kinloss as an Army base, but there should be no let-up in the fight to bring new jobs to Moray and to diversify the local economy.

UK Treasury Minister Danny Alexander and Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney have both visited the area, pledging to help on various fronts. We have to make sure they are held to their words. The numbers of personnel at the two bases, and the money they generate for the local economy, won’t be as great as before, so a gap has to be filled.

Moray recognises it has had too heavy a reliance on the RAF bases, and that we have to look to creating jobs elsewhere and developing other sectors, such as tourism.

It can be done. Look at RAF Kinloss, and the success of RAF and civilian personnel there in finding alternative employment. There are skills that companies, not least in the renewable energy or oil and gas industries, are desperate for, and while these jobs might not be based in Moray they can allow people to live here and travel to work.

Too many family ties exist to allow men and women to desert Moray at the end of service careers; we want them to stay.

Skills are also in demand by companies looking to relocate here, and a key feature in this is the estate of RAF Kinloss itself. The Army won’t need all of the great expanse, so we must ensure we make the most of the rest that can be made available.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox told business and community leaders at RAF Lossie last week that the Ministry of Defence needed to take a flexible approach to making parts of the Kinloss estate that wasn’t needed, available for possible business opportunities.

Danny Alexander, the Treasury Minister, confirmed this on a visit on Tuesday. He was told a number of potential investors were waiting in the wings, keen to locate to facilities at the base. He pledged the UK Government would work in conjunction with local agencies. He must be held to his word.

The Army must be urged to decide on how much of the base it will require, so that areas of the vast site and infrastructure can be made available. We can’t wait until 2015 for this to happen.

The UK Government seems to be offering no direct financial aid to help the Kinloss and Forres area over the time lapse in the Army arriving, so they must be prepared to give over parts of the base for commercial use, and quickly.

The Scottish Government is coming up with some cash towards regeneration, and again Moray must make sure it squeezes as much help as possible.

We have shouted long and hard for the saving of RAF Lossiemouth. We won, but the shouting cannot stop. We have set down a marker for the lengths we have been prepared to go to give Moray a future, and we cannot afford to let up on that tenacity and power.

The united front has to stay firm, this time towards regenerating our economy, supporting our local businesses and our workforce, and encouraging new businesses to set up and move into the area.

It’s a tall order, but so was saving RAF Lossiemouth. We won that fight, we can win this one too; we ALL have a part to play.

Great victory for learner bikers

IT MAY not have been on the same scale as saving RAF Lossiemouth, but Moray can be proud of winning another campaign – to keep a motorcycle test facility here.

It was a nonsense for the Government to force learner riders to go to Inverness or Aberdeen for a 10-minute manoeuvrability test. Moray said so, and the Government eventually relented.

So the full-test facilities are being restored, if use of an appropriate site can be found for a day a week, an evening or weekend. Surely that can be found. Businesses and others must be prepared to make this possible and see that victory is enjoyed to its full extent.