Moray will lose the UK’s only search and rescue co-ordination centre by spring next year.
Military chiefs confirmed last night that the lifesaving base at Kinloss will be relocated to England before April next year.
The announcement was greeted with dismay last night – and led to fresh attacks on the UK Government’s defence policy.
The Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) announcement that its Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) would be relocated to the south coast of England came as a bombshell to the Moray area.
At the time, no timescale for the move was given, but the MoD confirmed yesterday that the move to Fareham is expected to take place “no later” than March 31 next year.
The ARCC services have been a key part of operations at the Kinloss base since 1997 and help, on average, 2,000 people every year.
A question mark was left over the co-ordination centre’s future as long ago as 2011 when the fleet of Nimrod surveillance aircraft was scrapped.
That signalled the end of the road for Kinloss as an RAF base, although it has since become an Army barracks.
The closure of the ARCC will affect 27 RAF posts and 10 civilian jobs.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said last night: “The MoD’s Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre, currently based at Kinloss Barracks, will transfer from the MoD to Department for Transport in a phased approach to be completed no later than March 31, 2016.
“It has also been agreed that the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre function will relocate from Kinloss Barracks to the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) at Fareham in a phased transition under the auspices of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
“Collocating the aeronautical and maritime rescue co-ordination functions at the National Maritime Operations Centre will result in a better service for those in distress.
“Service personnel have been or will be assigned to new duties at RAF stations across the UK or leave at natural service exit points.
“Work is ongoing to clarify whether the 10 MoD civil service posts will transfer to the NMOC at Fareham.”
In December, Moray MP Angus Robertson described the decision as “devastating” for Kinloss, Moray and Scotland.
Last night, the SNP defence spokesman insisted that the decision was “just wrong”.
Mr Robertson said: “When the closure of the ARCC at Kinloss and transfer of its operations to Fareham was announced I condemned it as disproportionate.
“The loss of these highly skilled personnel from Moray just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
“The Kinloss ARCC performs a critical lifesaving role in co-ordinating rescues and there seems little rhyme or reason for the move to Fareham and no reasonable explanation of why it shouldn’t remain at Kinloss.
“UK politicians have constantly pointed to the benefits of defence jobs to Scotland’s economy, yet they continue to cut one defence facility after another, taking thousands of jobs out of Moray and the rest of Scotland. It is just wrong.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said yesterday’s announcement was “extremely disappointing”.
He said: “The UK Government’s closure of the ARCC at Kinloss is the latest of a series of disproportionate cuts to military personnel and MoD civilian staff in Scotland.
“We sought assurances from the UK Government that search and rescue provision in and around Scotland will not be compromised as a result of any closure.”