MoD jobs hope for Donnington army base

Under the plans, the depot could again become one of the Ministry of Defence's main support sites.

Telford & Wrekin Council has been working with the MoD for nearly two years to look at how the Donnington site, which employs more than 1,000, could be developed to meet the requirements laid down for MoD's National Defence Gateway logistics base.

As a result, in the next few weeks the council will be submitting a major planning application for buildings of about one million square feet on land next to the Donnington site to show that it can deliver the MoD's requirements.

Councillor Bill McClements, cabinet member for finance and enterprise, said: "I, together with the council's leader and senior managers, have met many times with key officials at the MoD over the last 18 months to first put and then develop the case for Telford as the centre for National Defence Gateway.

"We are now at the point where we can bring our proposals forward showing just what we can deliver.

"This is another example of the council's business-winning approach which has allowed us to seize this opportunity and develop our offer to the MoD, which we know will give them an excellent value solution for their future national logistics requirements and would provide a real boost for the economy."

If the bid is successful and planning permission gained, the Telford base could again become a main centre for the MOD's logistics operation in the UK. This would not only protect existing jobs at Donnington but also attract hundreds of new jobs to the borough.

Further details will be published before Christmas as part of a start of public consultation on the proposals.

In it's heyday, the depot was Telford's biggest employer with thousands of military and civilian personeel on site. It sent supplies across the world to support military operations and training exercises.

Exclusive by Ann Clarkson