1ACC / RAF Kirton in Lindsey / RAF Scampton future
 

I heard a rumour yesterday that plans for RAF Kirton in Lindsey and RAF Scampton have changed again. Apparently, 1ACC will move down to Scampton next year and merge with the CRC, not 2 years after hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent in making Kirton in Lindsey fit for habitation again! I feel sorry for all those who have settled around Kirton in Lindsey either in FMQs or privately who will have to move yet again. What a waste of money, caused by short-sighted planning! Also terrible timing considering current commitments, does anyone know any more details or timescales?

I am shocked.

Shocked that you have only heard one rumour. :rolleyes:

Well, considering that 1 ACC, the majority of BLACKDOG and a sizeable chunk of Boulmer will be sharing the same tents for the next few years, it sort of makes sense. :eek:
That said, I don't think there are many places in the RAF right now where a long term plan survives more than a matter of months. :ugh:

Could someone tell me which unit 1ACC is please? :}

Try Google it really works

Thank you, most educational. I must bookmark that Google thing.

1st Battalion Army Catering Corps?:)

About fifteen miles each way commute, what is the problem?:confused:

Caenby Corner thats what.

If that is all you have to worry about.......

Try being at HW and having a 150 mile commute (albeit not daily). There are also good back roads which avoid Caenby Corner. Ever seen the B1398??? :8:8

Why would it matter to the people in the Kirton MQ if the Amateur Camping Club moved to Scampton as there can't be many quarters left at Scampton for them to move to, and as Gainsey said, the commute from Kirton to Scampton isn't exactly taxing (as long as you don't get stuck behind a tractor!:sad:)

Singlies wise, have you seen the state of the Scampton blocks! I'm thinking that Kirton is going to have blue (and green) suits living there for a while longer.

To clarify, my point was: wouldn't it have been better to make the decision to co-locate all at Scampton 2 years ago? This would have meant all the money spent on ops and domestic site at Kirton could have been spent on a permanent solution at Scampton.
If, as has been suggested, most of the accomodation remains at Kirton, there will be a need for numerous MT runs, an increase in HTD payments, not to mention no reduction in the guarding commitments - how can this be a logical step forward? The plan seems to have been badly thought out, the powers that be closed 2 split site stns (Neat and Buchan), but have succeeded in reopening 2 others (Scampton and Kirton) - well done to all involved!!
How long will it be before all involved end up at Leeming or back at Boulmer?!

Ill be glad to see tha back of Kirton. Landed there once and nearly got knocked over by the tumbleweed.... complete and utter waste of money....close it soon please

Kirton would appear to be a bit of a Nemisis for you Rotary boys! A friend of mine up at Scampton told me about an AAC chopper almost fiying into the 1ACC Radar during a night landing. The potential disaster was narrowly avoided thanks to the quick thinking of a technician on the ground who heard the sound of an approaching chopper, put down his PS2 controller & legged it outside. Upon seeing the distance between the radar & chopper decreasing at a rapid rate, he picked up his torch & illuminated the radar antenna. The AAC chappie then carried out an expeditious climb in his little Gazelle/Lynx & just missed said radar.

In fairness to the pilot, it seemed like a rather random place to site a radar!

AonP,
me thinks you must be new in those parts. If I may, a little recap as to how this situation arose.

Plan A, Scampton will become the new A6 hub. Scampton needed a bit of work doing to bring it up to spec, but as the Army had not so long ago left Kirton, so most of the estate was generally in better nic, the plan was to put a few units there until their permanent home was ready. Hence why some went direct to SCA if buildings were OK, others to KIL as a stop gap.

Then with the decission to put the A6 hub at Leeming, this left SCA in limbo, with units spread out over Lincolnshire. Add to this the drastic shortage of MQs in the area and you are left with the present situation. Funding for SCA was withdrawn to bring Leeming up to spec, so financially nothig in the pot to refurbish SCA and bring 1ACC down the A15.

As you and others have said, if money were available to refurbish enough real estate at SCA to move 1ACC down, and move out of the MQs at Hemswell, then over the medium term, the savings on MT, guarding etc etc pays for the work. But no money is available for the initial outlay, so no imediate prospect of co-location on one site.

As for rumours, where do you want to start?
SCA shuts tomorrow/next week/year/2050.
It stays open for next week/month/year/decade.
All units moved out
Other units move in
Units stay in their present locations
Units combine at KiL
Units combine at SCA
The Reds move out
The Reds stay
100 Sqn are coming
100 Sqn are not coming
The remake of the Dam Busters film will be based at Scampton, and will pay for the station refurbishment so 1 ACC can move.
The remake of the Dam Busters film may be based at Scampton, but all money will go to buying a new Merlin for Ops out East.
The remake of the Dam Busters film will all be done using CGI, so no money to the Rental Air Farce.
The Dam Busters film will not be remade.

And those are just this weeks rumours!
:ugh: :E

The dog's name will be Trigger.:suspect:

DTWH,

You make it sound like Plan A for SCA was a coherent and masterful plan, and that the later decision to put the A6 Hub at Leeming instead was merely consequential. And you also make it sound that it's purely as a result of this change in decision that units are now in limbo and scattered across Lincs ....
There were those that challenged the options of the ACSSU paper as it didn't compare like-with-like (eg Leeming good for mounting airfield v Wittering good for accomm v Scampton good for hangar space etc), and especially on the cost assumptions of regenerating SCA. But the short-sighted "solutioneering" approach prevailed and questions were pushed aside.
Based on the assumption that all would be well at SCA, other units were then put in the area in advance.
Why the change to Leeming? The real costs came to light, but only once the plan had begun. Whoops.
Had the plan been assembled properly with exact cost estimates in the first place, one might wonder whether SCA may ever have been on the books as an option? But don't stand in the way of a good solution ......

I feel for the ASACS guys. In the space of a few years they have all but stopped chasing Bears, turned their radars inwards, closed a plethora of sites (well almost as there are still a bunch of techies out there), re-invented themselves, dug-in at Scampton and Boulmer only to be told that Boulmer will close and that Scampton, at best, will be a one trick unit.

If I were one of them, I would buy a caravan and call myself Gyppo. :ugh:

I feel for the ASACS guys too,

especially the E3 Mates (ASACS by default) who spend years training to be pilots only to find themselves flying long, carefully balanced right hand turns over the skies of Teeside (no easy task when you take into consideration the mass movement of pies down the back playing havoc with CoG!);)

Seriously though, a little stability for the FC world would not go amiss.

Perfectly good airfield at Kirton; surely the RAF has aircraft to provide a shuttle service to Scampton.