CONSIDERING the MoD and Wiltshire Council knew thousands of troops and their families would be coming back into our area last March, communications have been a bit slow to say the least.

This is the beginning of a new role for our servicemen and their families, and it is important that it is done right because they deserve the best.

It is not just about the housing, although some of the proposed sites in Larkhill are wrong as far as the locals are concerned and this needs to be seriously addressed. The biggest problem will be the infrastructure: services, schools, medical and dental services and, dare we mention, the roads.

They are not good at present and they are getting worse day by day. The issue of the A303 has been raised yet again but still nothing has been done. This is the biggest operation that south Wiltshire has had on its hands for a very long time and it will impact on us all.

The timescales are, to my mind, ambitious.

However, we wish them all well and will say “welcome back home” to our servicemen and women.

John Wigglesworth, Durrington