STIRLING MSP Bruce Crawford has written to the UK Government’s Defence Secretary, raising his concerns over the number of highly skilled local jobs that are at risk by current proposals to bring forward the closure of the Babcock DSG site at Forthside barracks.

In line with the UK Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, the DSG operation was originally earmarked for closure in 2022 with the rest of the Forthside MoD site. However, Babcock’s recent consultation seeks to bring the DSG operation forward to next year.

The last of its kind in Scotland, the DSG operation in Stirling is a central point for military equipment maintenance. It is estimated that around 56 jobs will be lost if plans to move a significant part of the service down to Yorkshire.

Unite the Union has called the proposals a potential “logistics nightmare.”

Commenting, Bruce Crawford MSP said: “I have always been against the closure of this site – strategically, Stirling is perfectly positioned in central Scotland in order to carry out services of this nature for armed forces based north of the border.

“I am aware that the majority of those who are employed in these highly skilled jobs live locally in the Stirling area. Moving the service down to North Yorkshire would not only strategically disadvantage Scotland’s armed forces but also threatens local jobs.

“That is why I have written to the Defence Secretary, seeking clarity on how this move would impact local jobs in the Stirling area and how the service will be affected.”