Tidworth and the many villages that surround it are on the brink of big changes. Representatives from the Army, Aspire Defence, Tesco and Castledown Business Park spoke about plans for the area at the recent Tidworth & District Chamber of Commerce AGM held on 14th November.

First up was Deputy Garrison Commander, Richard Aubrey-Fletcher, who updated the members about the future of the Army in Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford garrison - confirming that the population of troops and their families is set to increase from just over 7000 to 10,800 by 2010.

That increase is to begin soon, with the imminent arrival of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, which has been based in Germany for 25 years. According to the Colonel, this is an historical move for the Regiment and will bring around 500 soldiers and 250 families to Tidworth during 2007. Further increases will take place when 19 Field Artillery Regiment from Larkhill move in July 2008, with a Battalion of Royal Mechanical Engineers in 2009 followed by an Infantry Battalion in 2010.

Although the increase of troops to the garrison may sound daunting to locals, not all the troops will be living in Tidworth.  The influx will actually boost the economy of Tidworth, bringing more business for local shops and also the potential of attracting other business to the area.

James Thoden Van Velzen is the Garrison Facilities Director for Aspire Defence Services, an organisation contracted by the MoD to provide all services and the building of barracks and accommodation in the area over the next 35 years.  This will see Aspire not only make improvements for service personnel, but will massively improve the garrison areas of Tidworth, Ludgershall, Bulford and Larkhill.

Speaking prior to the meeting, James spoke to Tidworth Community Area Partnership Coordinator, Shirley Swain, telling her that it was Aspire’s ambition to interact and work closely with the community. 

“What I really want to talk about is our interactions with the community, not only are we going to build community facilities, but we are also going to use the community for employment. It is about the residents of Tidworth, it is a growing town and Aspire wants to be part of it.”

In Tidworth alone, Aspire currently employ more than 2,000 workers, both on the servicing and construction side and although many are employed locally, many from the construction industry have to be drafted in.

“I think jobs is the big thing here, in some areas we have had to buy from outside especially in the construction area - and that is fairly short term, but on the services side we are constantly recruiting. Not only will we employ locally, we be will training them as well.”

With the recent closure of Tidworth College, Aspire has confirmed the purchase of the building, which has been renamed The Aspire Business Centre. This will be Aspire’s Corporate Headquarters.

“We will be based there with our partners and our client the MoD, who will be co-located with us, we will be doing quite a lot of trade training there, not just for us but for the wider community,” added James.

Representing Tesco, Corporate Affairs Manager, Felix Gummer told the audience about their plans for a new Tesco superstore due to be built on Station Road. Although outline planning permission has been granted, Tesco are still awaiting further detailed planning consent. Tesco would like to enhance Station Road by altering the road layout, which is intended to join the two sides of station road together. They are in the process of consultation with the Chamber and members of the community. Felix said:

“We are very conscious at the moment that the road is divided in two halves. What we are hoping to create is shared space, where you have slow moving traffic for a short period time with no real delays, but safe enough so that people can shop with confidence – in effect it will integrate the store with the rest of the town.”
 
Tesco say they would like to be up and running as soon as possible and once the planning process is finally approved, the store could be up in less than six months.

Castledown Business Park is another new development for the area and is now in the early stages of its build. Located between Tidworth and Ludgershall on Tidworth Road, the site will house a variety of businesses bringing even more employment opportunities to the area. Peter Davies is the Development Manager for the site, he said:
 
“Road works currently in place are essential for the infrastructure of the site, which will have a new crescent shaped access road, and this is where the various plots of development will be serviced from. There will be a new traffic light junction near the humpbacked bridge end of Tidworth Road, and another new junction towards the Castledown School part of the road. This work is due to end in April 2007, with the first phase of new buildings completed around May 2007.”

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