As the future of RAF Marham hangs in the balance, the Lynn News headed to Swaffham to find out whether you fear for what the base’s closure could mean for the wider community.
Julian Battimelli, 74, from Northwold, said: “We need to make sure we keep Marham running.
“I think they should keep the plans and the base here because it gives the people of Norfolk a chance to get jobs locally.
“A lot of civilians work on the base and for that purpose we need it - there are not enough jobs locally and we should fight to keep it.”
Natasha Corrall, 35, from Swaffham, said: “My partner is a civilian handyman who worked on the base, he’s now been made redundant but they were offering to retrain him.
“We haven’t heard much at the moment, but I think it’s awful that they would even consider closing it.
“We have people coming back from Afghanistan in a few months - they’ve just fought a war for us and they deserve something to come home to.
“It’s not just the RAF but the surrounding towns that will suffer as well.”
Richard Hayes, 46, owner of The Town Barber, said: “I get a lot of personnel coming in, probably around 2-3 haircuts a day are personnel and at £8 each that soon adds up.
“Closing Marham would harm a small business like mine and it’s not just haircuts, it’s buying carpets and furniture, or using butchers - all of the people who have come for the base are using local services.”
Sylvia Bunce, 75, from Swaffham, said: “I’m a pacifist so I don’t believe in war, but I think it’s a great shame that they might be closing the base for the local businesses, these are customers of our local shops and we desperately need the jobs here.”
Josh Joachin, 17, from Swaffham, said: “I know there are a couple of schools on the base and I know a lot of people who live on the base. All of them will be forced to find jobs elsewhere and move away if it closes.”
Comments