A ROSYTH councillor leading the fight to save HMS Caledonia says he has held a constructive meeting with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) at Crombie over the issue.

And Mike Shirkie believes that the direction in which to take the campaign should soon become clearer with dialogue from Babcock and the Ministry of Defence.

In January, the Press backed Cllr Shirkie’s call for a campaign to persuade the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to keep Caledonia open as an operational base by awarding a programme of life support on the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth, to the dockyard.

In November, the UK Government announced that the base would shut in 2022 – coinciding with the completion of HMS Prince of Wales – in a decision that Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said was part of a long-term strategy to deliver a more efficient, modern and capability-focused defence estate.

It was met with an angry reaction, including Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman describing the move as a “historic mistake”.

He, along with Rosyth’s SNP councillor Sharon Wilson, have given their backing to the campaign and Cllr Shirkie had been seeking talks with the MoD, Babcock and the DIO at Crombie to study the feasibility of bringing life support of the carriers to West Fife.

DM (Defence Munitions) Crombie, which formerly served as Rosyth Naval Yard’s munitions depot, is operated as a loading/off-loading facility for naval vessels and for storage and testing of munitions for the Royal Navy.

It has two jetties and a deep water channel that allows ships to moor and Cllr Shirkie said: “We have had a meeting with the DIO at DM Crombie and we got a feel for the depot, what it does and what its capability is, but we are waiting for a further update from the dockyard.

“We should soon have an indication of whether to proceed with Plan A – which is to keep Caledonia open through life support, but Portsmouth are already in the frame for that as well – or if it is to shut, to look at ways where it could benefit the community.”

Following the announcement Caledonia was to close, Cllr Wilson – together with Mr Chapman – launched a ‘Gift HMS Caley to the Community’ petition that called on the town to benefit from its “campus, medical and leisure facilities” if the decision to close the historic naval base was upheld.