Telford & Wrekin Council urges government to choose Donnington
Telford & Wrekin Council is poised to step up the case to persuade the Government to locate its planned Logistics Centre of Excellence and Defence Gateway at land adjacent to the current MOD Donnington site.
The council believes Donnington represents a viable and attractive investment proposal for the MOD as part of the Ministry’s overhaul of its Logistics Commodities and Services section (LCS).
A joint letter has been sent to Cabinet Office Minister the Rt Hon Francis Maude by council leader Kuldip Sahota and managing director Richard Partington – setting out the reasons why they believe Telford is the ideal site for the planned Logistics Centre of Excellence.
The letter promotes Telford and Wrekin’s emphasis as a business winning and business supporting council and also makes a number of pledges including at no cost, 19 acres of freehold land adjacent to MOD Donnington – fully serviced by the adjacent Telford International Railfreight Park operated by DB Schenker Group.
Telford & Wrekin Council leader Kuldip Sahota said: “We believe that Telford is the better choice for the MOD and the Government as we will provide land at no cost to build a Logistics Centre of Excellence.
“We can guarantee a start on site this year which meets the government’s need to deliver infrastructure projects now to facilitate early savings.
“I’ve always said that I would do everything we can to protect jobs at MOD Donnington and I remain totally committed to that.
“We have 400 acres of publicly-owned serviced land and this will complement key companies in the MOD supply chain already located in Telford as well as opening up the potential to attract significant inward investment and the creation of a large number of extra jobs as a result.
“We believe as a result of all this we can help the Treasury secure significantly higher capital receipts across the MOD estate.”
