The proposed Defence Training College (DTC) at St Athan,
in the Vale of Glamorgan, has been axed by the ConDem Government.

Despite repeated assurances in the run up to the General Election that the Tories remained committed to the project, the announcement confirms the fears we voiced during the campaign and afterwards. Vince Cable signalled Lib Dem opposition to the scheme last September.

The decision by the ConDem UK Government to cancel the project, for which the Metrix Consortium was the preferred bidder, will mean the loss of:
Up to 2500 training and support jobs.
Up to 1500 construction jobs.
£700 million to £800 million DTC construction contract.
£60 million DTC supply chain expenditure annually.
Approximately £500 million annual boost to the Welsh economy from operational activities.
Between £270,000 and £540,000 boost to local tourism

And very importantly, it will mean the loss of a state-of-the-art training facility for our young men and women in the armed forces.

The project would have led to the creation of thousands of training, support and construction jobs and would have seen significant opportunities for local suppliers. This is a big blow to South Wales.
 
In the Vale of Glamorgan during the General Election, when we warned that the Defence Academy was at real risk under the Tories, they denied that was the case. They lied. Alun Cairns won the Vale of Glamorgan Parliamentary seat for the Conservatives claiming the project would be safe in their hands. Now he says he's 'delighted' at the prospect of a few morsels of training that may - just possibly - be thrown our way. He may be delighted. I'm not.