Business tycoon Eddy Shah has warned Lyneham and Wootton Bassett could face dire consequences unless an occupier is found for RAF Lyneham.

RAF operations are due to be relocated to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in 2012 and Mr Shah, 66, wants the Army to move in and save local businesses from ruin.

He said so much money had been spent on Brize Norton that it is unlikely the Government would cancel the move.

Mr Shah said: “Pubs, shops and other firms in Wootton Bassett could lose between 40 and 50 per cent of their business and Lyneham will be decimated.

“The real danger is there may be a long transition period between the RAF leaving and a new occupier coming in. The concern is that it becomes a wasteland.” Mr Shah, who runs the Wiltshire Golf and Country Club in Wootton Bassett, said other uses faced obstacles.

He said: “It’s 1,200 acres and we’re going to be losing 1,000 to 1,500 people from the site.

“You can’t just put an arts and crafts centre in there. Even a collection of small businesses wouldn’t be enough.

“Putting in a large manufacturing centre could take years and it wouldn’t work as an airport because there isn’t the road network to deal with the extra traffic.

“If it was used for storage then Wootton Bassett would have to cope with massive trucks rumbling through the town.

“It can’t be a housing estate because where would all the new people work? And a nature reserve wouldn’t provide enough jobs.”

He said consolidating Army bases in Hullavington, South Cerney and Colerne made sense.“There is already the water, oil and fibre optic supply,” he said.

“I know the Army have been looking to amalgamate some supply bases and this would certainly be big enough.

“There are also some technical troops being brought back from Germany and it would make sense to bring them here.”

Wootton Bassett Chamber of Commerce president Paul Dunn shares Mr Shah’s concerns.

He said: “If we could get the Army to move in and use local suppliers then it would be fantastic.”

An Army spokesman said he was not in a position to comment because no final decisions had been taken on the base’s future.