Victory gained by working together

Sir, – We are all delighted at the news that RAF Lossiemouth has been retained as an air base, and that Kinloss will be home to 1,200 Army servicemen and women.

This is a victory by the community, achieved by us all working together.

We thank the public for their incredible support, members of the Moray Task Force and the action groups for their unstinting commitment, and ‘The Northern Scot’ for helping to keep the campaign in the public eye.

Not least, we want to pay tribute to the RAF community, many of whom are currently serving and could not be directly involved in the campaign.

I just hope that what has been said and done in support of the RAF in Moray over the last nine months has left servicemen and women in no doubt as to how the community feels about them.

We are now working together to grab this opportunity to move the Moray economy forward into a more diverse arena to meet the new challenge that lies ahead – one we welcome.

It is our ambition to use the positive unity created by this successful campaign to drive the economy forward and to foster a greater resilience to any future threats to our community.

We will also be working hard to help all those from RAF Kinloss who feel they may be facing an uncertain future to stay and prosper in Moray if they wish. Their skills will be vital to rebuilding the secure and diverse economy we need.

Finally, we would like to say that it has been an absolute privilege to work alongside all the people involved in the campaign. Well done to everyone!

Yours etc,

George McIntyre,

Convener, Moray Council,

Co-chair, Moray Taskforce.