The Petition of the people of Caernarfon and the surrounding district,
Declares that the Petitioners are opposed to the closure of the Territorial Army Centre at Caernarfon and draws the House’s attention to the long and unique tradition of service in the forces by people from the community; further notes that the Caernarfon centre has an important role in recruitment given that it serves a very large rural area, that similar facilities will not easily be available elsewhere.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to retain the current usage of the site and explore complementary uses so that it can be further developed as an important and valued strategic resource.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Hywel Williams, Official Report, 16 July 2013; Vol. 566, c. 1060.][P001209]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Defence:
The issue referred to relates to the withdrawal of the Army Reserve from Caernarfon Territorial Army Centre (TAC) under the Future Reserve 2020 changes which I announced on 3 July 2013, Official Report, columns 923-947. The announcement covered the final part of the Army’s plan for its future force structure and set out the structure and future locations for the Army Reserve. These changes followed much detailed work by the Army in order to restructure the Army Reserve to maximise the military capability required of it as part of an integrated force by 2018.
Decisions on how to rebalance the Army reserve structure have been based on military judgment taking account of the capabilities required of the future integrated Army. The Army’s plan will result in the merger or closure of some units, as well as the raising of some new units in order to ensure that they can be paired with regular counterparts. The Army will also consolidate some small sub-units, most of which are poorly recruited, to enable better Regular-Reserve unit pairing. This will improve access to training facilities and equipment; make better use of full-time manpower and optimise opportunities for recruitment. These changes, which will impact on the current basing laydown of the Army Reserve, are expected to be complete by 2016.
Caernarfon Territorial Army Centre is home to a Platoon of D Company 3 Royal Welsh who will be moving to Colwyn Bay, a distance of 30 miles. Whilst it is understood that the vacation of Caernarfon TAC will come as a disappointment to those serving there, most of them live closer to Colwyn Bay than they do to Caernarfon. We therefore expect the majority of personnel to continue to serve at the Colwyn Bay TAC.
More generally in Wales the number of Army Reserve units will increase from six to seven, while sub-units will reduce from 22 to 19, located across 19 sites, and housing an Army Reserve liability of around 1,800.
The 19 sites in Wales at which Army Reserves will be based are: Morgan Street TAC, Llandaf TAC and Maindy Street TAC in Cardiff, Dalton VC TAC, Haverfordwest, Cwrt-Y-Gollen TAC, Crickhowell, Carmarthen TAC, Glamorgan Street TAC, The Grange TAC and Morfa TAC in Swansea, Abertillery TAC, Bridgend TAC, Prestatyn TAC, Queensferry TAC, Pontypridd TAC, The Castle in Monmouth, Cwmbran TAC and Raglan Barracks TAC in Newport.
Further work will be undertaken to better define how those sites being vacated by the Army Reserve, such as Caernarfon TAC, will be managed in the future and how retained sites will be developed to meet the Army’s future needs.