Vulcan pledge ‘underlines importance of site to UK defence capability’

Caithness councillor Struan Mackie has welcomed a UK government pledge that the Vulcan site will be asked to continue with MoD activity until April 2027 at the earliest.

The announcement was made by Maria Eagle, the minister for defence procurement and industry, who said it would safeguard around 280 skilled jobs.

Her statement came a day before a motion to Highland Council asking the secretary of state for defence, John Healey, to consider the former nuclear submarine test base for future missions.

Councillor Mackie, the proposer of the motion to Thursday’s full council meeting, said: “The announcement by the minister for defence procurement and industry is a very welcome one and timed perfectly for the full Highland Council meeting in Inverness.

“This year marks Vulcan’s 60th anniversary – six decades of playing a key role in delivering and supporting the UK’s submarine programme.

“In providing the prototypical evidence and unique expertise within naval propulsion, the work conducted at Vulcan has kept our submariners safe and our country protected since 1965.

“We should be incredibly proud of the work conducted at Vulcan, and optimistic that the workforce has a continued role to play in the submarine enterprise and meeting national security requirements.”

Councillor Mackie, who represents Thurso and Northwest Caithness on the local authority and is chairman of Dounreay Stakeholder Group, added: “Principal contractor Rolls-Royce is a significant and welcome part of our community, involved in local initiatives in addition to providing hundreds of highly skilled and rewarding careers in Caithness and north Sutherland.

“I hope this announcement provides them with greater certainty about future work. I believe this could be a base to build as we look to realise future opportunities for the far north.

“Ultimately, the announcement underlines the ongoing importance of Vulcan to the UK’s defence capability and adds further credence to my request that the site be considered for future missions as part of the ongoing strategic defence review.

“I hope my motion will win the support of the council chamber in this very special year.”

Ms Eagle said: “The Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment has been used for prototype testing of nuclear propulsion plants for more than 50 years. The last test reactor was shut down in 2015 and more recent activity at the site is focused on fuel management to support ongoing safe operation of our current nuclear submarines.

“The site continues to provide valuable support to the submarine enterprise, ensuring our submarines remain safe to operate in meeting our national security requirements, including the Continuous at Sea Deterrent, and we expect this to continue until at least April 2027.

“This maintains around 280 highly skilled jobs for the contractor Rolls-Royce Submarines and the Ministry of Defence.”

Jamie Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said: “Having been my party’s shadow defence spokesperson in the past, I have no illusions as to the dangerous present situation and the absolute imperative of the UK and allied countries significantly and rapidly increasing defence investment.

“I have visited Vulcan on a number of occasions and can testify to the skill and dedication of the workforce. In investing in future defence, it makes huge sense to build on the sure foundation of what we already have – and without a doubt Vulcan can make a big contribution in the future.

“The motion to the Highland Council is most welcome, not least to the Highlands and Caithness where local people have a proud tradition of being ready to defend our country when we have to.”

Meanwhile, rats are being blamed for disabling the monitor which tracks sewage discharges from Vulcan.

An investigation carried out after the flowmeter stopped working quickly identified the cause. “It was due to rodent intervention,” Commander Ian Walker said.

Speaking at last week’s meeting of Dounreay Stakeholder Group, he said it was discovered that rats had chewed through the cable leading from the flowmeter.

Cdr Walker, who heads the small Royal Navy team based at Vulcan, said they had been unable to measure the volume of sewage being discharged. But he said it was possible to show, through historical data and visual checks, that it was not breaching set limits.

A replacement flowmeter has since been installed.

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