Defence boost could bring thousands of jobs

About 2,500 personnel are based at RAF Wyton, with 1,000 more planned by 2035

Developing the area around an RAF base could help bring thousands of jobs and homes to part of Cambridgeshire, according to a district council and the local MP.

The leader of Huntingdonshire District Council said RAF Wyton could become as well-known as GCHQ, the government's intelligence, security and cyber agency based in Cheltenham.

The plans are part of a proposal to create a north Huntingdonshire defence cluster, building on the military base's existing intelligence capability.

But some living locally have voiced concerns about the scale and density of house building being proposed, as well as the type of defence jobs.

Armed Forces minister Alistair Carns said defence would become an "engine for growth"

RAF Wyton, between Huntingdon and St Ives, was named in the government's Defence Industrial Strategy as a potential "anchor" for a "key cluster for defence and dual-use innovation".

The Ministry of Defence's plans for Wyton — known as Project Fairfax — would put the base "at the forefront of defence intelligence and innovation" with it becoming a "hub for collaboration, attracting partnerships with academia and industry".

It already hosts the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence. About 2,500 personnel work there, with an extra 1,000 jobs planned by 2032.

Huntingdonshire's leader Sarah Conboy said RAF Wyton could become as well-known as GCHQ in Cheltenham

The council's Liberal Democrat leader Sarah Conboy said officials had talked about Wyton "being as well-known as GCHQ", which she said was a "pivotal part of the community" in Cheltenham.

"They have a vision that looks at Wyton fulfilling that kind of function, having that kind of profile," she said.

Building a defence cluster nearby, she continued, would mean the area could "harness the innovation" and "make it work for our local communities, but also we'll contribute nationally".

Huntingdonshire has published proposals for about 15,000 new homes in its draft local plan, with 4,000 of them planned at Wyton and another 4,900 at nearby Lodge Farm, potentially creating one urban area bisected by the A141.

The council's plans for a wider defence cluster also include developing Brampton Cross, a 945-acre (380-hectare) "employment park" where the A14 crosses the A1.

The industrial site could include a "future energy quarter", where new battery technologies were developed.

Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty hoped the plans would attract large companies to the area

The government has pledged to spend 3.5% of national income on "core defence" by 2035, up from 2.3% in 2024-25.

Huntingdon's Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who has backed the local plans, said "defence is a growth industry".

"The UK is going to have to upscale its military capability and there is a real opportunity for us to be a first-mover... to have that centred in a place like Huntingdonshire."

He hoped the proposals would "draw big companies in" which would "create good quality, highly skilled jobs".

Labour Armed Forces minister Alistair Carns told a "Defence in Huntingdonshire" event in Westminster that the military sector would become an "engine for growth" for "all of the UK but especially areas where we have existing defence infrastructure and a welcoming and proactive support from local governance".

CP Composites managing director Anthony McCaffrey said the proposals would be "awesome" for the area

Anthony McCaffrey, 53, is the managing director and co-owner of CP Composites which manufacturers carbon fibre components, and supplies Formula 1 racing teams.

Asked what he thought when he first heard of the defence cluster plans, he said: "Hallelujah. Huntingdon is a great place to live and work, but it does need investment.

"A hub like this... would just be awesome; if Huntingdonshire doesn't take this opportunity, it will go somewhere else."

Paul Boothman has lived locally for 25 years

Retired businessman Paul Boothman, 65, who is chairman of Houghton & Wyton Parish Council, said he was "in principle very supportive" of the defence cluster plans, which could be "very positive for people".

However, he said that speaking as a local resident and not on behalf of the parish council, he was concerned about the scale of housing being proposed at the RAF base, which is on the other side of the B1090 from Houghton and Wyton villages.

He said the council's plans could amount to building the "third-largest town" in the district and would mean Huntingdon and St Ives would be a step closer to being joined up.

North Huntingdonshire was being asked to take "more than its fair share", he added.

"It is overheating, I think," he said.

"I must stress – we're not against housing per se, but we need to look at where it actually goes and make sure it goes into the right place."

Christine Green believed the biggest threat we are facing was not military

Christine Green, a Green Party member, Quaker and peace campaigner, said our "greatest security threat in the 21st Century" was not "other people's aeroplanes, other people's bombs" but was "the weather".

She said the defence strategy "needs to be broad" and that industry should use its skills and innovation to help solve or mitigate climate change.

The area could build housing estates, "have fantastic jobs" and "fly the flag for Huntingdonshire", she added, "but if we do not have clean water to drink, if we do not have clean air to breathe and if we are running out of food, that will not make a difference and we will have failed".

"Warships [and] aeroplanes are no use if the fens are going to be destroyed by tidal surges in 20 or 30 years time," she said.

Politics East is on BBC One at 10:00 GMT on Sunday, and after broadcast on the BBC iPlayer.