Meetings will help decide RAF Mildenhall’s future

Residents and businesses in Forest Heath are being given the chance to help decide the future of RAF Mildenhall.

Forest Heath District Council today announced it will be holding a series of meetings next month to discuss the impact of the air base’s closure on local businesses, jobs, the housing market, and communities.

Resident representatives, businesses, community groups and partners including Suffolk County Council are invited to attend the meetings, the dates and venues of which are expected to be fixed by the end of January.

Leader of Forest Heath District Council, James Waters, said hearing from residents and businesses would help to ‘mitigate the impact’ of the base’s closure and achieve the ‘best possible outcome’.

“While we are all saddened by the closure announcement, we all need to work together to ensure Mildenhall and the surrounding area emerges stronger from this,” he said.

“We want to hear from businesses as to how they will be affected, and what can be done to mitigate that impact. We want to hear from our residents as to how they view this opportunity and what they would like to see happen with the land at RAF Mildenhall. It is vital that we involve our communities in achieving the best possible outcome for themselves.”

Cllr Waters sasid he will be taking the feedback received at the meetings to the Government’s Mildenhall, Alconbury and Molesworth Working Group, which will be chaired by West Suffolk MP Matthew Hancock.

He said he was also aware the MOD are looking into the possibility of a future military use for the site.

“While I would want and expect that decision within the next six months, we are not prepared to sit on our hands and wait, and risk seeing the site eventually mothballed,” he said.

“Our three priorities as a council are economic growth, housing and families and communities – promoting jobs growth, making sure the supply of housing meets the demand, and encouraging a strong sense of community among the families within our towns and villages. It is those, priorities, those beliefs, alongside our strong track record in working with partners including our Local Enterprise Partnerships, that will ensure Mildenhall continues to thrive, long after the base closes.”