WILTON - the ancient capital of Wessex - is set to be rocked by news that defence chiefs are thinking of closing the army's Land Command headquarters.

The massive Land Command complex, which employs 1,000 civilians and 400 armed forces personnel, is the nerve centre of British Army operations worldwide, including the current UK military control of Basra in Iraq.

Now the role of the Wilton site is being reviewed, with the probability that the whole operation will be relocated to Upavon, the Journal learned this week.

Speculation is that there are unlikely to be large-scale job losses or huge impact on the town's housing market, as the army will still want people to do the work, and staff will almost certainly want to keep their Wilton homes and drive to Upavon

But with fewer people in the town during the working day, the move could have a huge impact on the Wilton economy, hitting shops, pubs and other businesses.

Already, the town is about to lose one of its biggest commercial employers, the E V Naish Group of Companies, which has about 100 people on its payroll and is planning to quit the felt mill's site in Crow Lane and move to Amesbury.

News of the army's probable pull-out from Wilton has been revealed in a letter from armed forces minister Adam Ingram to Salisbury MP Robert Key.

Mr Ingram says that a ministry of defence project team is in the early stages of looking at "rationalising and potentially colocating Land Command at Wilton with the adjutant general site at Upavon".

The team was expected to complete the first stage of its study in October and Mr Ingram says a colocation is unlikely to be achieved for at least three or four years.

But he says that commander-in-chief of Land Command General Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman has written to all staff, explaining the basis for the project team's work, and that consultations had begun with trade unions.

Mr Ingram says he understands the uncertainty the announcement has created and adds: "We shall, of course, keep staff aware of developments and inform them how they will be affected personally as soon as we can."

He has undertaken to give Mr Key a detailed briefing within the next week or two.

Mr Key told the Journal: "The big question here is, why is the MoD seeking to move Land Forces from Wilton?"

He said that, in 1998, the government looked at moving the Wilton operation to the underground control centre of all three armed forces at Northwood, in Middlesex, but the army fought off the move.

He suspected the MoD was now putting its foot down and saying the army could no longer have a separate control centre.

Mr Key said he also detected financial motives. "I suspect the Treasury is breathing down the neck of the army with pound signs in its eyes and thinking of selling off the Wilton site for housing," he said.

However, the MP conceded that the Wilton site was cramped and that there was more room at Upavon for expansion. He said a move to Upavon would also relieve Wilton of 1,000 cars a day.

But the big downside was the impact the move would have on trade in Wilton, and Mr Key said any change needed to be carefully planned for by both Salisbury district and Wiltshire county councils.

"I shall be meeting the minister and raising a lot of issues with him," said Mr Key.