ONE OF the largest and newest storage buildings in Europe has swung into action this summer near the Scotland-England border.
The state-of-the-art facility within the long-established sprawling 1300-acre Longtown Defence Munitions site is a major hub in the supply chain for all three UK armed forces.
Two local representatives, Julie Minns, Labour MP for Carlisle and North Cumbria, and David Mundell, Conservative MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, have been given a tour of the facility, which adjoins newly completed modern offices.
They were briefed about the showpiece Longtown Defence Storage Facility (LDSF) by senior Ministry of Defence officials, representatives from the armed forces and members of the project management team.
The area covered by the new building was compared to the equivalent of 12 football pitches, whilst a high roof adds a substantial increase in storage capacity in what is the non-explosive part of the depot, which began life within a giant World War One cross-border munitions factory.
Main contractor on the 818,000 square feet building was Scottish-based construction and civil engineering company McLaughlin and Harvey.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said: “The LDSF marks a strategic improvement in enhancing the UK’s defence readiness and resilience, whilst streaming and strengthening supply chain operations and significantly increasing non-explosive storage capacity.”
Whilst LDSF provides safe, secure and technologically advanced storage for a wide range of non-explosive equipment, spare parts and other supplies, different parts of the site will continue to issue and maintain general munitions for UK forces worldwide.
The MPs were told the extra capacity at the border site was a timely development as international tensions, including the war in Ukraine, meant increased defence investment and storage demand at Longtown and associated sites in the UK and overseas.
Located at the geographical heart of the British Isles, with good road and rail links, the £98.5m development at Longtown should also maintain employment at the site, which currently has a core workforce of 66, plus the MoD Fire Service, Guard Force and outside companies based on the site.
The new building, say the MoD, will provide 25 permanent jobs for the region.
Constituency MP Julie Minns stated she was delighted to visit LDSF to see first-hand the scale and sophistication of what was a vital development.
She said: “The UK Government’s recent Strategic Defence Review signalled a landmark shift in our deterrence and defence, reflecting the new era of threat we face.
“This requires a new era for UK defence and facilities like the Storage Facility are vital in meeting the demands of that new era.
“This investment not only strengthens the UK’s defence infrastructure, but also secures skilled jobs and long-term opportunities for our local communities in Carlisle and North Cumbria.
“The facility is a testament to the dedication of the workforce and the strategic importance of Longtown in supporting our armed forces. I will continue to champion investment in our region that delivers both national resilience and local prosperity.”
David Mundell MP described the investment as a positive vote of confidence in the site, which he explained employed a sizeable proportion of its workforce from the Dumfriesshire part of his constituency, the boundary of which was within walking distance.
He said: “This development represents a welcome turnaround for Longtown depot, which has maintained a good reputation reflecting well on the generations of local employees who have served their country through their important work.
“This facility contrasts greatly with the situation more than a decade ago when the future of the Longtown site was in doubt. I was pleased then to support an ultimately successful campaign, driven by the workers and unions, to reverse the closure plan.
“A then proposal to centralise the nation’s defence supplies in a smaller number of larger depots seemed folly to me and I’m greatly relieved that argument appears to have now been fully accepted at the MoD. They acknowledge that it would have been wrong to put all our (storage) eggs in a small number of baskets.
“The strategic importance of Longtown, near the centre of the UK, now seems to be widely acknowledged.”
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