Local MP, Caroline Dinenage, has welcomed the news that HMS Sultan‘s future in the Gosport peninsula is secure.
The 2016 MoD "A Better Defence Estate" set out plans to dispose of 91 military sites across the UK which would have seen HMS Sultan close.
In a recent update from the Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Alec Chalk KC MP, it was confirmed that the MOD no longer intends to dispose of HMS Sultan.
This Ministry of Defence change of heart on Sultan comes after a hard fought campaign by the local MP to demonstrate its closure would be detrimental to Royal Navy engineering training, a financial disaster for the MoD and a betrayal of the Gosport community.
Caroline met with former Defence Secretary Michael Fallon MP shortly after the 2016 announcement and in 2017 brought then Defence Minister, Tobias Ellwood MP, to Gosport to visit HMS Sultan and show him first-hand the importance of retaining the Ofsted-excellent-rated training establishment.
In 2019, the MOD had a change of heart and announced HMS Sultan would close but not before 2029. Since then, Caroline has continued to campaign against its closure and most recently bought the Defence Secretary the Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP to the area.
Caroline said:
“I’m delighted that the Ministry of Defence have finally concluded what local people have always known, that closing HMS Sultan would be a huge mistake for the MoD the Royal Navy and Gosport. This area has a proud history of serving our Armed Forces and excellent facilities such as these are vital to ensuring that our personnel are equipped with the skills they need to defend our country.”
ENDS
For further information contact Caroline on [email protected]
Notes to Editors
Caroline formed a Gosport ‘Taskforce’ made up of local and national stakeholders, including the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to plot a sound economic future for local public estate that was earmarked for disposal and discuss alternatives to closing HMS Sultan.
After Caroline was first elected in 2010, she led a similar campaign to protect the Royal Naval School of Engineering at HMS Sultan from relocation to south Wales and since then it has delivered training for service personnel to a level that has been rated 'Outstanding' by OFSTED.
