THE county council has given its backing to a campaign to preserve the future of RAF Lyneham.

The future of the giant Hercules base is under threat following the news that it is to be the subject of a strategic review along with RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and St Mawgan in Cornwall.

North Wiltshire MP and Shadow Defence Minister James Gray is leading a protest fight against the closure of one of the last military footholds in the county.

On Tuesday, Wiltshire County Council leader Peter Chalke urged the council to lobby and meet Defence Minister Adam Ingram and ensure the county council members were consulted every step of the way.

"We are very concerned about any threat to the base. We must join the campaign and demand from the Ministry of Defence that we be involved in any discussions from now on. We should have been involved from the start. This is a very significant matter," said Coun Chalke, chairman of the county council's cabinet.

Around 2,500 RAF personnel are stationed at Lyneham together with 750 civilian workers. The base injects £18 million into the local economy every year.

Coun Chalke said all people and organisations with an interest in the base should be working together and that included Oxfordshire County Council.

"As much as Lyneham would be a loss for Wiltshire I am not sure Oxfordshire is ready for the increase in housing and increasing traffic on the roads around Brize Norton. The news may not be that welcome there could be severe consequences," said Coun Chalke.

A major influence on the study's outcome will be which base will be the most suitable for a new generation of transport aircraft - the A400Ms - which RAF Lyneham is expected to take delivery of in the next eight to ten years.

Lyneham is currently the home of the RAF's 54 strong Hercules fleet. The review will look at whether to split the fleet or to amalgamate them all at Brize Norton.

County councillor Christine Crisp said all levels of local government need to back Mr Gray's campaign.

"We need to work with the district council and the parish council because this will have a huge effect on the local area and I don't think that can be underestimated.

"We need to move in the strongest terms to represent our feelings to the Government before a decision is announced," said Coun Crisp.

In a report before the cabinet, Richard Lander, director of environmental services, said the combined value of the lost armed services and civilian personnel gross incomes to Wiltshire's economy is at least £60 million a year.

He said it was very clear the impact would be substantial both in the short and long term and it would be difficult to find a suitable use for the airfield and its hangers if the RAF left.

Mr Lander said he would write immediately to the MoD pressing them for an agreement on the county council's future role in the ongoing discussions.

"We need to be involved in discussions throughout the preparation of the study rather than awaiting consultation at the final stage. This would allow the council the best chance to influence thinking, prepare appropriate information and lobby where necessary to gain support," said Mr Lander.

A meeting will be set up with senior executives from both the county and North Wiltshire District Council.

Mr Gray said he had received a number of responses to his campaign and was pressing ahead to present his submission to the Government in the New Year.

He has met Air Chief Marshall Sir John Day, the commander in chief of Strike Command, but was given very little information except that the review was taking place.

"The campaign continues in Parliament. I will continue to press all the relevant people and make sure our submission is ready after Christmas," said Mr Gray.

At a meeting tonight of North Wiltshire District Council's executive committee, members are expected to make sure as much information as possible is made available for the review.

David Evans, the district council's urban and rural regeneration team leader, said the closure should not be played down and council officers would make sure everyone was aware of the base's importance.