A new army of Press and Journal readers is adding its voice to the growing campaign to save the Fort George garrison.
In just a few days, almost 300 people from Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey, the Black Isle and Inverness have signed our printed petition that began online.
And as of last night, more than 1,500 people had backed the internet protest itself.
The Ministry of Defence is reviewing the base’s future as part of proposals to cut its overall estate by a third to save £1billion.
Its hit-list is expected to be published within a few months. It has said “no final decision” has been taken on the garrison’s future.
Sign our petition: Fight for Fort George
The 250-year-old fort, east of Inverness, has been the battalion home to the Black Watch for the past nine years.
Politicians, business leaders and ex-service personnel have backed the campaign to guarantee its future.
And screen star Hugh Grant, whose grandfather commanded the garrison after World War II, has also signed up, “horrified” by the possibility of the fort being closed.
The actor launched a successful public appeal five years ago to raise £3million to redevelop the Highlanders’ Museum within the barracks.
The attraction draws 55,000 visitors each year.
Among the recent signatories to the petition is a former Seaforth Highlander who was based at Fort George for two years, a business person in nearby Ardersier who said its loss would turn the village into “just another commuter belt area” and another supporter who said: “The history is too important to lose.”
Local SNP, Labour, Liberal Democrat and independent politicians have joined the campaign.
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey SNP MP Drew Hendry has tabled a parliamentary motion demanding the barracks’ retention.
Figures obtained by the P&J have confirmed that Fort George has the lowest maintenance bill of all of the country’s main infantry bases.
Between 2012 and 2015, a total of £896,140 was spent on maintaining the facility. That compares with annual bills for Redford Barracks in Edinburgh of £667,943 and £548,878 for Dreghorn Barracks, also in the capital.
