Shropshire Star

Multi-million pound MoD Donnington hub is opened - with pictures and video

[gallery] It has been more than seven years in the making but today, MoD Donnington's multi-million pound logistics hub was today opened.

Published
Minister of defence procurement Harriett Baldwin, with Kuehne-Nagel learning and development manager Gary Sheward, of Newport

The huge investment will make Donnington the ministry's main logistics depot.

Councillors in the borough said they were delighted to finally see the site brought to life as it was officially opened by Harriet Baldwin, the defence procurement minister, who said: "The Defence Fulfilment Centre in Donnington will transform the way we store and distribute essential supplies to the Armed Forces who keep us safe.

"This £83 million investment and partnership with leading logistics specialists is concrete evidence of our determination to give our personnel the very best support wherever they are in the world."

Councillor Shaun Davies, Telford & Wrekin Council's leader, said: "This is a fantastic day for the whole of Telford and Wrekin.

"We always said that safeguarding the existing jobs at MoD Donnington was the key priority and today we delivered that.

"The investment and confidence in Telford has secured and created more jobs, as well as helping to grow the local economy.

"We certainly didn't begin the process as favourites for this but we worked hard and convinced the MoD that Telford is the best place for the Defence Fulfilment Centre."

Winning the site was a long battle for Telford and it is now set to bring 700 jobs and up to £60m to Shropshire's economy.

The borough was involved in a tough fightagainst Bicester in Oxfordshire to be named as the MoD's preferred site.

Before the decision, operations were split across both sites.

Telford & Wrekin Council, which pushed strongly throughout, planned to borrow £120 million from Whitehall to buy up land that could accommodate the expansion and faced multiple delays getting the final nod.

But in February 2015, MoD Donnington was chosen as the new home for the £130million centre.

After the announcement, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard, who represents The Wrekin, said it was "great news" for Donnington and the whole of Shropshire and the then Telford & Wrekin Council Labour leader, Councillor Kuldip Sahota described the success as "a long and difficult journey".

As well as being of benefit to Telford, the hub is also expected to deliver financial savings to the MoD of around £500 million over the next 13 years.

The hub will provide military supplies to the front-line

The programme included the £90 million in the construction of the centre next to the existing Logistics Commodities and Service at Donnington, with a further further £40 million will be spent on new IT systems.

Work began on building the hub by contractor McLaren in November 2015, it measures 80,000 sq m (860,000 sq ft), about the size of 10 football pitches.

About 3,500 people have been involved building of the new centre.

Now it is complete, the building will store supplies for troops on the front-line and at bases around the world in a 13-year contract.

The hub will provide everything from food and medical supplies to clothing for servicemen and women officers both based in the UK and abroad on the front line. It is aimed at improving delivery times for the vital equipment.

The contract will be handled by US giant Leidos and its partner companies in the UK.

A new European arm has been established by the multi-billion dollar giant in the UK to run the big-money contract being delivered through Donnington.

And it could also be used by other government departments, bringing even bigger savings nationally and greater benefits for Telford.

In total it is estimated to be worth between £7 billion and £8 billion over the next 13 years – but that figure could rise to £13 billion if the MoD expands the range of products handled under the co-called Logistic Commodities and Services Transformation (LCS(T)) programme.

It represents a significant turnaround for the base, which as recently as 2012 was facing potential closure in a review of operations by the MoD.

Wrekin MP, Mr Pritchard, added: "I am delighted that the centre is now open. This is good news for local jobs and the whole county. It underlines Shropshire's importance as a national defence hub."

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