The Leader of Portsmouth City Council has asked government ministers to approve plans for a Portsmouth Maritime Academy.
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson has called for the facility to be opened in the Ward Room at HMS Nelson to protect the economy and the manufacturing skills base within the local population in the wake of the decision, announced by BAE Systems last November, to end its shipbuilding operation in Portsmouth.
In a letter sent yesterday to Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond, Minister for Portsmouth Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable and Minister of State for Business David Willetts, Cllr Vernon-Jackson said the academy proposal had the backing of the Local Economic Partnership and that it would have a significant impact in driving up the skills of local people and creating the workforce needed to take advantage of opportunities within the maritime industries. He suggested the HMS Nelson Ward Room as the best location for the facility.
“This is the old Navy Academy, which is where both Nelson and Captain Cook learnt their navigation, but it has been empty for many years. It is a beautiful building, would be a really appropriate replacement for the Ward Room, and would bring an historic building back into productive use,” Cllr Vernon-Jackson wrote.
“I therefore ask for your support to expedite the decision making process to help with the mitigation of loss of jobs from the decision to shut shipbuilding here in Portsmouth,” he added.
