Defence Secretary Opens New Corsham MOD Project

The Secretary of State for Defence, Liam Fox, officially opened the Corsham MOD’s new build project, Building 405 last week. 

“The Defence Secretary was taken on a tour of the main MOD Corsham office accommodation, incorporating the Global Operations Security Control Centre (GOSCC) and the office spurs housing the majority of DE&S’ Information Systems and Services (ISS) Operating Centre personnel,” revealed a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, “Dr Fox was briefed fully on ISS' ongoing support to Operations being provided by ISS delivery teams and industry partners.”

The Defence Secretary reportedly said in praise of MOD Corsham: “"If you don’t have communications you don't have front-line capability. Without your support and expertise we can't deliver the necessary effect."

There was rumoured to be a protest organised for that day by locals unhappy with the parking issues along Westwells Road, but it was “called off last minute” according to one source within the camp. Had unhappy protesters lined the street they would have been sorely disappointed, for Liam Fox was allegedly not brought into the base from the main entrance, but a side one. 

During the building of MOD Corsham, the building was purposely designed not to have enough parking spaces for employees, in a bid to encourage workers in the base to car-share or find alternative means of transport. As predicted by many critics of the plans, those working within the base parked on the road outside the camp and made navigating the usually quiet street more of a challenge. 

The Corsham Town Council is working to formalise a 40mph speed limit along the road and introduce a number of waiting restrictions to combat the problem.