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Arborfield Garrison Residents Action GroupC/o 1 Gerring RoadArborfieldBerkshireRG2 9NZOpen Letter To:The Secretary of State for DefenceDr Liam Fox MP5

Floor Zone AMain Building, WhitehallLondonSW1A 2HB28

May 2010Dear Secretary of State,

The Proposal to Develop the Area around the Arborfield Garrison in Berkshire

I am writing to you to find out the Government’s firm plans for the Garrison in the small village of Arborfield in Berkshire:For more than ten years we have been consistently told by the MOD that the Garrison would closein two to three years time. But each year the closure date has been pushed back. When givingevidence to Wokingham Borough Council and the Planning Inspector last year, the MODannounced the Garrison would close in 2012. However, we were informed two weeks ago thatthe date has moved back again, this time to 2015. We now understand the new government is toimplement a major Defence Review that may result in yet another delay in the Garrison’s closure.The local residents would be pleased to see the Garrison remain open because of the excellentrelationship between the REME and the local community. But the reason why the issue is soimportant to local residents is that if the Garrison is vacated, there are plans to build over 3,500new homes on both brown and green field sites in the area. Local residents would supportcarefully controlled development on brown field sites behind the Garrison wire, but are totallyopposed to any proposals to build extensively on MOD owned green fields and other spacesoutside the wire.Therefore, we would like to know if the proposed transfer of the REME to St.Athans is to go aheador if it is subject to the Defence Review - or any other review for that matter? And if the transfer isto go ahead, when will it be completed?Furthermore, if the transfer does take place, will the Arborfield site be used for any other militaryunit or purpose, or will the land inside and outside the existing wire be sold?I look forward to receiving your response to our questions.Yours faithfully,Martin Rutter