St Athan army camp accusations against Welsh Government

The Ministry of Defence site has been earmarked for use as a business park

A row has broken out over a military base with the Welsh Government accused of refusing to hand over land to bring more service personnel there.

The UK government wants to move the 600-strong 1 Rifles regiment to East Camp at St Athan, where some Royal Air Force training still takes place.

But the base is now home to a business park and a new Aston Martin car plant.

The Welsh Government said there was space for the regiment but a minister said the land offered was unsuitable.

UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said Welsh ministers should not "stand in the way" of its request to expand the military use of St Athan, which is near Cardiff Airport.

It is understood that in a letter last year, former first minister Carwyn Jones had told Mr Williamson that other parts of the estate could be used for what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had in mind.

Gavin Williamson said it was not "logical" for Welsh ministers to "stand in the way" of the expansion

Mr Williamson, in a letter to new First Minister Mark Drakeford, said the offer of West Camp and other alternative locations "simply do not best meet Army requirements".

Visiting St Athan on Friday, the defence secretary said it was "an amazing base".

"We want to be investing more in this base, bringing more service personnel here, bringing more prosperity to the local economy.

"But sadly proposals that we have put forward are ones that the Welsh Government at the moment are refusing to consider."

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Mr Williamson said the UK government wanted to make St Athan "the real centre for the British army here in Wales", adding that it would bring money into the local economy.

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, Wales Office minister Nigel Adams and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson visited the MoD St Athan site on Friday

But he criticised the land on offer, saying: "We can't have service personnel living as part of an industrial estate.

"I cannot think there is a logical reason of why the Welsh Government would stand in the way of investment and the opportunity for British service personnel to be based here."

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: "We have promoted the area as a business park, the result of which brought Aston Martin to Wales on the understanding we would maintain our commitment to developing it."

She said there were "hundreds of acres" available to the MoD, which "accommodate the new influx of personnel while not compromising the business park".

"We look forward to working closely with the UK government and the MoD to find a mutually beneficial solution," the spokeswoman added.