Roland
Someone needs to tell CAS that moving all phase 1 trg to RAF Cranwell does not make sense at present due to the financial situation:
1. A couple of years back Halton Hoise was valied at around £1.5M as it needs to have so much work done to bring it up to 5-star spa hotel standards. Also, the Recruit Trg Sqn (ex Apprentice Wg) buildings are Grade II listed and so they cannot be demolished. The rest of the site was valued at c£100M.
2. Aylesbury Vale and Chiltern District Council cannot supoort the development of the site for at least 10 years as they already have a massive building prgram underway and they have a further 2 planned - the hospital at Stoke Mandeville is over-run, the local schools are rammed (despite building a new Academy on the North side of Aylesbury) and as you quite correctly observe the roads are also jammed for the significant periods of the day.
3. HQ Air would still need access to the Married Quarters - RAF Halton has so few permanent staff (less than 500 and some of those are FTRS without entitlement).
4. RAF Cranwell is also short of Married Quarters due to the rest of Lincolnshire being similarly short - therefore, either expensive rentals would be needed or new build Married Quarters. There are also shortages in schools, hospital places and GPs in North Kesteven - this plan is unlikely to be in the local Council's 10 year plan as well.
5. The so-called 'synergies' with Initial Officer Trg and Basic Recruit Trg are unlikely to be found - you can't mix and match! So although you might be able to share some of the admin burden (maybe with a 10-20% reduction in total staff doing admin), the other parts of initial trg needs the same individuals. There is so very little fat to trim from something already as lean as it can get without breaking duty of care or health and safety legislation.
6. There would have to be a significant amount of infra built at Cranwell. Compared to the ~150 officers going through Cranwell each year there are ~2,000 recruits - at any one time there are ~5-600 recruits on site. There would need to be at least 4 new SLAM blocks to house the staff, there would need to be new barrack blocks for the students. There would need to be a new build of trg facilities and also a parade square (unless CHOM is to be shared? But there is a 'passing out' parade every 2 weeks that would severely disrupt CHOM's daily activity) as the Parade Square outside No 1 Mess is too small. I understand the cost of all of the build required is estimated to be between £400,000-500,000!
So I expect you heard "a spare £250M to do it" from CAS when you consider the recipts he would generate from the sell-off.
7. Then there is a the issue of the location. Most RAF Recruits do not have cars and so rely on public transport. At Halton, with Tring/Aylesbury/Wemdover stations and an ambundence of buses, it is very good; at Cranwell it is just awful. Also, 500 recruits descending on downtown Sleaford is going to be 'interesting'!
8. Where are the ~15 other lodger units going to go? Who is going to pay for their move? For example the Specialist Trg Sqn at RAF Halton delivers heallth and safety trg to over 5,000 joint service personnel each year. If you want to do that elsewhere then you need a facility AND a serious amount accomodation - if you have to build it, it doesn't come cheap!
Someone needs to be fully frank with CAS in that this vision is just bonkers in our current climate of deficit. It will not save money, we will lose other capabilities to achieve its funding and also it will be unpopular. This is classic VSO 'good ideas club' that is surrounded by the sychphantic murmerings of staff officers recently graduated from Shrivenham Polytechnic. If it happens we will set ourselves up for more headlines of "waste" and "over-spending" in the national newspapers.
As LJ says, "mend and make do" is the only option for the foreseeable future.
The B Word