THE Ministry of Defence today promised that unions representing the civilian workforce will be consulted before any major decision is taken on RAF Lyneham.

The future of the giant Hercules base is in the melting pot again 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.

At the moment about 2,500 RAF personnel are stationed at Lyneham together with 750 civilian workers and the operation injects £18 million into the local economy every year.

The MoD says the study is a routine process that it carries out regularly on all its bases, but North Wiltshire MP James Gray believes it could be an excuse to sell the site off for housing.

"This seems a strange thing to be doing at a time when a war is taking place and Hercules aircraft from Lyneham could soon be in action flying into Afghanistan," said Mr Gray, who is the Shadow Defence Minister.

"Reports coming out over the weekend are suggesting that the real reason behind this review is so money can be raised for the Treasury by selling bases like Lyneham for housing.

"To even think of doing this at this time must be demoralising for the RAF personnel serving at Lyneham. I think it is pretty poor."

The study will be headed by Air Marshall Sir Anthony Bagnall, the Commander in Chief of RAF Strike Command, and is expected to last several months.

RAF Strike Command spokesman Tim Lewis said: "A study has been commissioned to determine the most cost effective use of three airfields and what their best future roles will be.

"This is a normal part of MoD procedure and no decision has yet been made. The study will take several months to complete and any recommendations it makes will be subject to consultation with other local interested parties and the unions who represent the civilian workforce.

"This is part of a normal rolling process of looking at every option and looking at the most cost effective use of our facilities."

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

At the moment Lyneham is the home of the RAF's 54 strong Hercules fleet that includes 25 of the aircraft's updated J models.

However in eight years time the Hercules are to be replaced by the A400M aircraft which has not yet been built.

Over at RAF Brize Norton their VC10s and Tristars are also due to be replaced in the same time scale by another aircraft which is not yet off the drawing board called the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft or FSTA for short.

RAF spokesman Fl Lt Tom Draper said: "It is business as usual for us at the moment. There are concerns but we cannot speculate until we know the results of the study."