North Wiltshire MP James Gray has dampened expectations of RAF Lyneham being saved from closure, despite raising the issue with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Staff at the base are scheduled to move to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in 2012, leaving an uncertain future for the town.

Despite campaigning to save the base, Mr Gray said the signs were not promising.

He said: “I’m not holding out too much hope.

“The previous Government spent tens of millions of pounds on Brize Norton so it may be extremely difficult to reverse the decision.”

Lyneham’s fate will be decided in the Government’s Strategic Defence Review to be published in October or November.

Mr Gray spoke with Secretary of State Liam Fox last week who said no firm decision had been made and the review would be looking into it.

But last Wednesday Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Stephen Dalton, told him the switch to Brize Norton was almost certainly going ahead.

At Prime Minister’s Question Time last Wednesday, Mr Gray asked David Cameron for his backing to ensure a successor was secured for Lyneham.

He said: “The Prime Minister will not be surprised to hear that I intend to continue campaigning to keep the Hercules fleet at RAF Lyneham in my constituency as long as I can.

“However, if, at the end of the day, it moves to Brize Norton in his constituency, and takes with it the jobs and economic prosperity that go with it, will he at least use all his good offices to ensure that we find some way of bringing jobs and economic prosperity back into the vacated site at Lyneham?”

Mr Cameron said he was frequently told by Hercules pilots that they didn’t want to move to Brize Norton.

He added: “He makes a good point about economic development, and we will ensure that, if this goes ahead, we will see good, strong economic development in his constituency.”

Mr Gray said it was vital the site was occupied.

He said: “It is a very big site, some of it quite polluted.

“What I don’t want to happen is for the site to be left vacant like the base at Wroughton.

“That would be a disaster.”

He added that tax breaks and financial incentives were unlikely to be available to attract a large employer but there were other things that could be done.

He said: “Speeding up planning decisions is something the Government can help with.

“And it can also look at improving the transport infrastructure between Lyneham and the M4 or rail links.

“Having the backing of the Prime Minister can also help speed up the exit of the Armed Forces if they decide they don’t want to use the site.”