If the military is withdrawn from St Kilda as planned then the whole island group must be returned to being a greenfield site which is likely to cost the Ministry of Defence tens of millions of pounds, a member of the Range Task Force has claimed.
Councillor Donald John MacSween claims the cost of restoring the island of Hirta after a half century of military occupation could be up to £30 million but that the cost had been completely left out of the MoD's calculations on what the planned closu
re will actually save.
The last study on the cost of such a move made in 1994 found that it would cost around £15 million to return the island to its natural state.
The MoD says that the closure of the St Kilda base and slashing of jobs at the associated rocket evaluation ranges on Benbecula and South Uist is to save £50 million. Now it is hoped that if the £30 million extra cost of returning Hirta to a greenfield state could slash that saving to just £20 million which may help the ministry conclude the closure option is no longer economic.
Mr Macsween said: "I certainly hope that its apparent error in not taking account of the cost of withdrawing completely and making good the island, where the ministry has had a radar station for the monitoring of weapons testing off the north-west of Scotland since the 1950s, will persuade defence chiefs to think again."
Earlier this month it was announced that the withdrawal from St Kilda and the planned rundown of the associated Western Isles rocket testing ranges on Benbecula and South Uist would cut 125 local jobs which would be transferred to South Wales.
Mr Macsween said: "My colleagues on the local jobs taskforce and I want all these jobs to remain here if at all possible. We want the MoD to stay in St Kilda because their men help to keep a unique and remote site safe and secure.
"But if it still insists on withdrawing staff and contractors then they cannot just leave buildings empty and abandoned equipment behind them. They have to take their rubbish with them. In 1994, the cost of restoring the army footprint on St Kilda to its original condition was estimated at between £10 million and £30 million. We expect the ministry to live up to their responsibilities to this World Heritage Site that it has used constantly for five decades."
He claimed that for the MoD to pretend that it can save on both personnel and the cost of clearing up is absolutely unacceptable from the islanders' point of view and, he hoped, from the point of view of island owner, the National Trust for Scotland, as well.
"That is why I am calling today on the NTS to make it clear to the MoD that it cannot just abandon these structures on St Kilda and hope that an occasional visit is acceptable. It is not.
"The MoD met its responsiblities when it last reviewed the St Kilda outpost in 1994 so it would be deceitful of it now to try and pretend it can save on manpower costs while shirking its responsiblity to restore this world-famous island to the pristine condition it found it in."
Mr Macsween has asked the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) to formally withdraw permission from the MoD to use St Kilda for any of its operations and ensure that it is made clear that it requires the MoD to return the island to its former natural state.
He is also questioning some the MoD's key assumptions. He is asking what was the basis for the MoD's assessment that the future policy of the NTS and the Scottish Government would allow the retention of unmanned military equipment and structures on a designated World Heritage Site after the military personnel were withdrawn.
"What consideration, if any, has the MoD given to the cost of restoring St Kilda to a greenfield site? It does not look to me as if it is even included in its calculations in the options analysis. In 1994, the MoD's own estimates showed it would cost between £10 million and £20 million then. However, as well as the inevitable inflation, stricter environmental standards have been passed in the intervening 15 years."
He doubted if replacement of the current 12-strong military presence with mere devices such as intruder detectors, video monitors and signs to ward off unwelcome visitors would provide an adequate safeguard of the public interest in a doubly-designated World Heritage Site.
"I also want to know whether the MoD's assessment includes the implications of the Right To Roam legislation passed since the last MoD review in 1994? If the military does withdraw from St Kilda, the island will not be exempt from legislation that applies elsewhere in Scotland."
He said he was upbeat about the chances of the local multi-agency jobs task force supporting his moves to force the MoD into a speedy rethink of its plan and he will be asking NTS and Environment Minister Richard Lochhead to also lend their support.
