Explosive end for Dstl at Fort Halstead
22 Jun 2011 by Evoluted New Media
The explosives research and forensic analysis arm of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is to pull out of its Fort Halstead site in Kent by 2016
The explosives research and forensic analysis arm of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is to pull out of its Fort Halstead site in Kent by 2016
Operations at the Sevenoaks site will be consolidated at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s (Dstl) other sites in Portsdown, Portsmouth, or Porton Down near Salisbury within the next five years.
"By bringing together facilities and capabilities, the programme will result in more robust and resilient scientific support to national defence and security and will offer better value to the taxpayer," said a Dstl statement.
The Dstl – part of the Ministry of Defence – is the largest scientific organisation within government, employing around 3,500 talented and creative scientists, technologists and engineers. Of the 840 staff currently employed at Fort Halstead, 170 are expected to relocate to Portsdown West and 670 to Porton Down.
The Dstl have said all jobs will be available to those willing to relocate, but those who do lose their jobs will be unlikely to find similarly highly skilled and well paid jobs in the region – particularly after Pfizer’s announcement to leave their Sandwich facility earlier this year.
“It’s extremely disappointing news,” said Michael Fallon, Conservative MP for Sevenoaks. “Even though the losses are being phased, it’s a large number of very highly skilled jobs, which we can sorely afford to lose here,”
Dstl was formed in 2001 when the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency was split into two. The other arm, defence technology company QinetiQ will remain at Fort Halstead.
Fort Halstead has a long history of innovation and carries out research and forensic scientific analysis in to explosives. It is believed it was once home to the High Explosive Research base, where Britain helped develop the atomic bomb. In the 1970’s and 1980’s the bomb making capabilities of Northern Ireland’s paramilitary organisation were examined.
More recently, the site has studied new threats, including those from al-Qaeda such as the 2005 bombings of London Transport.
