Robertson Barracks closure is sad news for Dereham, says legion

Robertson Barracks was built as a station for the RAF in 1940

The closure of a Norfolk barracks as part of a major restructuring of the Army is "sad news", the chairman of the county's Royal British Legion has said.

Robertson Barracks at Swanton Morley, near Dereham, is currently home to 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced the restructure as part of the integrated review.

Norfolk legion chairman Hugh King said the closure would have an impact on shops, schools and pubs.

The barracks is scheduled to close by 2029.

Robertson Barracks has been home to 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards - also known as the Welsh Cavalry - since 2015.

But the armed forces have a long history at Swanton Morley, which was an RAF station from 1940 until 1995.

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There are about 400 personnel based at the site, as well as family accommodation and a pre-school.

Mr King, who is also Dereham's deputy mayor and a member of the town's legion branch, said: "Now the Army contracts out so much, there are quite a few civilian workers too.

"I don't know how many are employed there, but it's a few."

He added it was "sad news for the town and Swanton Morley" and while it had been expected for some time, "it was a shock".

The Welsh Cavalry will relocate to newly revamped Caerwent Barracks, near Newport in Wales.