On Monday 8th January 2021 at the full Ash Parish Council (APC) meeting, councillors were asked to consider a response to the ongoing closure of the Ash Ranges Firing complex. The meeting was keenly attended by members of the public and representatives from the Save Ash Ranges group. It was agreed that APC would robustly respond to the Minister of State for Defence Procurement responsible for the MOD estate, in co-operation with the Save Ash Ranges Group, represented by Mr Carl Cookson.
The Chairman, Cllr Nigel Manning, explained that following the conflicting explanations given by the MOD for the complete closure of the Ash Range Firing Complex to members of the public, he had issued a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to obtain the evidence which justifies the MOD actions.
Cllr Manning has now sent the letter to Jeremy Quin MP, the Minister for Defence Procurement, who is responsible for the MOD Estate and a response is awaited. This letter has been made public by Cllr Manning and Ash Parish News has published a copy below.
In the jointly constructed letter, Cllr Manning explains that both APC and the residents are “extremely disappointed” and “very angry” when the Ash Ranges firing complex was closed to the public without warning or consultation. He says the responses from the MOD are a “total insult” and that there is a “complete cover up” regarding the motivations behind the closure of the ranges.
Having exhausted all other routes, Cllr Manning explained that with no other alternatives he must “respectfully demand” that the Minster of State for Defence, “restore full public access” to the Ash Ranges firing complex with immediate effect.
Letter to Jeremy Quin MP
| Ash Ranges
Dear Minister, Re. Closure of The Ash Range Firing Complex. (ARFC) I have recently received a copy of your letter dated 21 December 2020, originally sent to the Right Honourable (Rt. Hon.) Michael Gove MP regarding the closure of Ash Range Firing Complex (ARFC) by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Whereas the contents of your letter are noted, as an elected representative of the Ash community, I am duty bound to draw to your attention the blatant inconsistencies presented by the MOD and their complete disregard of the residents of Ash and the surrounding communities. First, I must stress that Ash Parish Council (APC), has long supported and welcomes the military activities on Ash Ranges. Having said that however, APC along with the residents it represents, were extremely disappointed and very angry when, without warning or indeed consultation, the ARFC was closed to the public. I regret to say that the disappointment and anger has not subsided; it has in fact continued to grow. To enable you to understand why this is, I have set out below the series of events, leading up to where we are now.
I have to say, the conflicting information presented by the MOD, has been exacerbated by the statements made in your letter. Was the closure of the ARFC really due to vandalism and the disruption to training, or the latter reason given by Colonel Cook, Health and Safety? These conflicting statements have severely damaged that relationship between APC, the MOD and Ash residents. As a result of these damaging and inconsistent statements and the continued failure to provide any evidence to substantiate the reasons for closing the ARFC, I as Chairman of APC sought evidence. Firstly, informally via the MOD and then formally by Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, to obtain the evidence to support the reasons used by the MOD to close the ARFC. Specifically, these requests were: Vandalism “I would request that MoD/DIO please provide a detailed breakdown of the financial costs of repairing the damage caused by vandalism to the actual Ash Range Firing Complex, including firing butts, buildings, targets etc. for each of the five years prior to their permanent closure this year”. Actual training time lost “I would request that MoD/DIO please provide a detailed breakdown of the hours of training lost caused by vandalism to the Ash Range Firing Complex, for each of the five years prior to the permanent closure of these areas”. Health and Safety “I would request that you provide a copy of the H&S Executive assessment of the Ash Ranges Firing floors and the need for MoD to take this action. On the same issue of H&S, we were told that the firing floors at both Stoney Castle and Henley Gate, which form part of the wider Ash Ranges area and which have similar hazards to the Ash Firing Floors, remain open and accessible. Is this correct? If so, would you please explain how this can happen, as surely the H&S assessment applies across all the MOD Estate? Why have the Ash Firing floors been treated so differently?” I regret to say that to date none of the information I have requested has been forthcoming, despite the comments made in your letter dated 21 December 2020. For your information, I attach a copy of the letter I received from some nameless bureaucrat in the Secretariat of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). Quite frankly the contents are a total insult and only confirms my belief that there is a complete cover up. It is clear from the evidence I have seen, that the bureaucrats within the MOD who have been advising you, clearly “don’t know their right hand from their left” and the contents of your letter dated 21 December 2020, not only confirms this but has, I am sad to say, exacerbated the position even further. It is apparent that you as a Minister of State for Defence, with responsibility for Defence Procurement, have not been provided with the full picture or indeed the current information, as provided to me by the MOD. Therefore, how can I as Chairman of Ash Parish Council, or the residents that I represent, have any faith or belief in anything that your department has to say? Given the above, as Chairman of Ash Parish Council, I have no alternative but to respectfully demand that you as Minster of State for Defence, restore full public access to the ARFC with immediate effect until proper, open, honest and constructive discussions can take place to find an agreeable solution for the benefit and satisfaction of all parties. I must stress the ARFC is a very important area for many, many people, especially the less mobile in our community, as it enables them to enjoy fresh air and take regular daily exercise on the flat. The external perimeter path which gives access to the RDA is very uneven and is completely unsuitable for wheelchair users, others with limited mobility and children in pushchairs. More now than ever, given the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic, it is so important for residents to follow government guidelines and only take exercise within the local area. By continuing to deny residents access to the ARFC, it will restrict their ability to exercise, thus impacting on their physical and mental health, or encourage them to exercise outside of their local area in contradiction of the strict government guidelines. This will inevitably lead to the spread of Coronavirus and not protect the NHS. To conclude, I can assure you that both Ash Parish Council and the users of the ARFC are committed in wanting to assist the MOD in making these areas safe for both the military and the public to use and we all want to work harmoniously with the MOD to achieve this goal. I am happy to discuss this matter further with you and the Rt. Hon. Michael Gove MP face to face, or via a MS Teams or Zoom meeting, if you think this would help in your further understanding of the issue and to expedite matters for all concerned. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Nigel Manning Chairman Ash Parish Council cc. Michael Gove MP |
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