Highland Council statement following future of Fort George announcement

Commenting on yesterday's announcement by the Secretary of State for Defence on the future of Fort George, Cllr Margaret Davidson, Leader of the Highland Council said:-

“While I am obviously disappointed at this news and very much regret that the army will no longer have a resident battalion at the Fort, I am relieved that we are not looking at an immediate closure and that we have 16 years to secure a long term future for Fort George.  

 The closure will clearly have an impact on the local community, especially our army families, but at least there is time to look at how we can mitigate those effects to the greatest extent possible.

It will be important to work  closely with the Ministry of Defence,  Scottish Government and our local partners to identify proposals that will see Fort George developed in a productive and sustainable way, as well as engaging  with the MOD on the rest of their estate in Highland.”