HOPES are rising that the under-threat HMS Sultan in Gosport could be offered a stay of execution. Last year ministers announced that the engineering school would shut by 2017 with all training moved to St Athan, Wales.
But now the Ministry of Defence has told The News no decision had been made over when Sultan would be closed.
It comes as a leaked e-mail reveals that the new £11bn facility in Wales could be delayed by eight years.
Accor-ding to the leak Metrix, t
he consortium behind the new training centre, is considering keeping Sultan open until 2025.
Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock, who is a member of the Defence Select Committee, said he thought the delay was likely and that it was great news for the area.
'This is very good news for Gosport,' he said. 'It will mean lots of civilian jobs remain at the base and it also means a boost for the local economy because they won't lose all the sailors that go through there.'
Mr Hancock said the delay raised doubts about the St Athan project, which would see training for all three armed forces based at a state-of-the-art facility.
'I think the St Athan scheme is unlikely to happen because it is very expensive', he said.
'I have doubts about the project and I always have.'
If it falls through, the Ministry of Defence could be forced to retain training sites across Hampshire, including Sultan, which is home to the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School.
An MoD spokesman said there was 'no question whatsoever' about the future of the project, but added that nothing had been decided when Sultan would close.
Metrix spokesman Christopher Moseley said the consortium would not comment on leaked material.
But he said it would be 'unsurprising' that details change due to the 'hugely complex' nature of the 25-year project.
He said: 'We are working very closely with the Ministry of Defence to deliver this on time.'
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