THE Army group that selects future officers is to stay in Westbury, although job losses may only have been put off for a couple of years.

Plans to move the Regular Commissions Board, which employs over 60 people, from Leighton House to Sandhurst, next year have now been shelved by the Government until 2005.

Westbury MP Dr Andrew Murrison led a delegation to the Ministry of Defence in September to try and save the board.

He said: "I am thrilled it is great news for Westbury, local jobs and the Army.

"Ministers did not manage their original plans well but have subsequently shown themselves open to reasoned argument."

Although no plans have been made for what to do with the site once the board is moved, Dr Murrison who once worked for it during his Royal Navy career is still concerned about the effect a housing development on the site would have on the area.