A FORMER Imphal Barracks union leader says he is hoping to help save hundreds of jobs at the complex for the third time after backing York MP Rachael Maskell’s Save York Barracks campaign.

Ian Craven, a former official with the PCS union at the barracks in Fulford Road, says he helped fight off one-time Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine’s plans to close the pay and records office on the site in 1984.

He then joined the campaign in 1999 by The Press and York’s then MP Hugh Bayley to save the army headquarters on the barracks site.

Although the HQ eventually closed, the Government compensated for the lost jobs by relocating the then Defence Vetting Agency to the complex - a direct result of the pressure created by the campaign, said Mr Bayley at the time.

York Press:

Now, having retired from the barracks last year, Mr Craven, 66, says he’s hoping for a hat trick of successes after throwing his support behind Ms Maskell’s campaign against Government plans to shut the entire barracks in 2031 and the barracks at Strensall in 2021.

He said he was also the campaigns officer for York and District Trades Union Council, which was backing the campaign.

He said it had particular concerns about the loss of employment in the wake of recent announcements of jobs being lost to the city, for example 300 at Minster Law and more at the last remnant of one of York’s most famous manufacturers, Adams Hydraulics, after it went into administration.

Ms Maskell said when she launched her campaign last week that 1,400 skilled jobs and 2,000 years of military history were at stake with the proposed closures of the two sets of barracks. She said the proposals were not a done deal because the Government was obliged to undertake economic and social impact assessments before pressing ahead.

More than 300 people have now signed the petition online at www.saveyorkbarracks.com, which urges the Government to keep Imphal Barracks and military sites in Strensall open.