Closure of Royal Britannia Naval College would be a massive blow to Dartmouth and the local community

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 19th Jun 2004

Reports in today's press that Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, will be announcing the closure of the Royal Britannia Naval College in Dartmouth were greeted with dismay by Totnes Liberal Democrat, Mike Treleaven. Speaking today he said:

'The closure of this historic and valuable training college would be a huge blow to the local community and would rob the Navy of a magnificent resource that has trained naval officers for nigh on a century. Dartmouth has an enviable record in providing the best training in the world and many foreign navies make use of its unique capabilities.'

He continued:

' It is inevitable in this day and age that we have fewer ships and different battles to fight but in an increasingly technological age it is even more important that our officers are trained to the very highest standards, training that Dartmouth has provided successfully for generations. Closure would be a real body blow to Dartmouth where as well as providing employment, the College helps support numerous local businesses. If Mr. Hoon is thinking of closure I would urge him to think again and certainly not make any announcement the day before Parliament rises for the summer recess - a move designed to stop proper parliamentary debate.