Today’s edition of the Shropshire Star reports that plans to move defence training to South Wales could now be axed. Union officials have welcomed the news that these costly, controversial plans may not go ahead and the new hope this gives to RAF Cosford’s chances of survival as a military base:

A Government source has said the £14 billion private finance initiative project, awarded by the Labour administration, is unlikely to be given the green light by the present Conservative/Lib Dem coalition because of the huge costs.

It opens up the possibility of studies for a much lower cost replacement which could mean a reprieve for RAF Cosford and secure its future. Mr O’Harney said they believed the programme for the new facility at St Athan had been flawed since its inception.

He said the cost of the facility had soared from £11bn to £14bn in the space of three years.

The source said: “The logic for something on that site remains compelling. The model does not. It’s not impossible that something will go ahead – but it won’t be a gargantuan PFI.”

St Athan has been viewed as vulnerable as the coalition is keen to axe £20bn of defence contracts structured as PFIs – and the St Athan project is not yet under contract.

  • The full article can be viewed here.

9 Comments CherryPie on Sep 29th 2010

9 Responses to “Costly PFI Project Might Now be Axed”

  1. jameshigham says:

    I wish they’d just leave well enough alone instead of putting this fear on everyone.

  2. Well that’s one good thing to come from the run up to teh Spending Review. I won’t expect many more though!

  3. anonomous says:

    “One clear consequence of the continuation of the apparent politics of secrecy surrounding technologies enabling remote control of the human brain is that the governments, who own such technologies, could use them without having to consult public opinion. Needless to say, any meaningful democracy in today’s world could be disrupted, through secret and covert operations. It is not inconceivable that in the future, entire population groups subjected to mind control technologies, could be living in a “fake democracy” where their own government or a foreign power could broadly shape their political opinions by means of mind control technologies.”

  4. Ellee says:

    Fingers crossed!