West Norfolk Chamber Council held their latest meeting at the community pub, the King’s Arms at Shouldham and received an update on RAF Marham’s future plans from Wing Commander Ady Portlock.
RAF Marham is the second largest unit in the Royal Air Force. The base is home to 2,500 service personnel, 200 civil servants and approximately 5,000 dependents, plus 1,000 contractors.
Only a few years ago, RAF Marham’s future was in doubt, as the Tornado jets, based at Marham, were being phased out in favour of a new jet. However, the decision to base the new Joint Strikeforce Fighter (JSF) – Lightening II, at Marham has secured the base’s future in Norfolk until at least 2050.
In February 2015, the Prime Minister, announced that £300 million would be invested in RAF Marham to equip the base to accommodate the new JSF.
The Tornado will be phased out over the next couple of years, with the Lightening II coming into full operation in 2019. RAF Marham will also have a training centre for the JSF, which will encourage the European nations to use Marham. In addition, the US Air Force has also announced that Lakenheath in Suffolk will be their JSF base. This will effectively make our region a key hub for the Joint Strikeforce Fighter.
Work on the base’s upgrades will commence towards the end of 2015, with the peak of the work coming in 2017. It is expected that there will be over 1,500 additional contractors on the base carrying out these works. This should provide some opportunities for local contractors and will definitely increase the local economic spend in the West Norfolk area.
With key contractors such as Circo, BAE, Rolls Royce and ISS all having or developing apprenticeship programmes, there will also be future opportunities for young people in West Norfolk.
Heather Garrod, President of West Norfolk Chamber said:
“It is fantastic to know that RAF Marham’s future is secure until 2050 and so exciting to see so many future opportunities for our local economy and businesses, as a result of the JSF being based at Marham.
With so much is being invested in West Norfolk, is vitally important that West Norfolk’s young people understand what future opportunities are available to them, right here West Norfolk.”
Following their discussion on RAF Marham, the West Norfolk Chamber Council also identified their goals for 2015/16. They agreed to:
- Recruit a further 3 West Norfolk Chamber Council members by the end of 2015
- Increase West Norfolk Chamber membership by 10%
- Create 8 x new apprenticeships with businesses that have not previously had an apprentice in the last 5 years
