A new defence storage facility has opened in Cumbria to improve the delivery of military equipment to the UK Armed Forces.
The Longtown Defence Storage Facility will create 25 permanent jobs and has already supported 450 workers during its construction.
The facility, located alongside Defence Munitions Longtown, will store mission-critical items such as body armour and spare parts, and features an on-site rail link to ensure faster and more cost-effective transport to frontline forces.
Built by McLaughlin & Harvey, the site is roughly the size of 12 football pitches and forms part of the government’s wider plan to modernise defence logistics and strengthen the UK’s industrial base.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard, who opened the site on 14 October, said that “the opening of this state-of-the-art facility in Longtown will enhance our ability to store and deploy critical defence equipment to the frontline.” He added that the project demonstrates “how we’re modernising our defence logistics while supporting jobs here in Cumbria – supporting our Armed Forces and boosting warfighting readiness.”
The facility is equipped with advanced security systems and digital storage management tools to ensure efficient handling of defence assets. It is designed to work in coordination with the UK’s existing Defence Fulfilment Centres in Donnington, Shropshire, and Bicester, Oxfordshire, allowing faster response to operational demands.
Enhancements to the Longtown rail connection will also help reduce costs, emissions, and reliance on road transport.
Lieutenant General Simon Hamilton, Interim CEO of Defence Equipment & Support, described the project as “a testament to DE&S’s dedication to providing exceptional support to our Armed Forces.” He said the new storage capability will “ensure we can deliver the right equipment to the right place at the right time, and when it is not in use, store it safely, securely and sustainably.”
The Longtown facility incorporates sustainability measures such as energy-efficient lighting, automated climate control and water recycling, alongside designated nature reserve areas.
The size of 12 football pitches? I hope the 25 permanent staff are security.
Nah! Eleven a side, one ref and two assistants.
Eleven a side-Goalie, two fullbacks, three halfbacks and five forwards. The proper team structure 🙂 from the good old days.
The facility is within a secure MoD munitions storage facility, and I think it’s a location that has a MDP presence as well.
Big site, long perimeter. Getting deeper into other areas within not so easy as riding a bike into Brize.
Why do we advertise this targeting information to our potential adversaries ????? Like the runway at Brize Norton, why not just paint bullseyes on such things and have done with it ?
– Captain Mainwaring, where is that massive new military storage facility?
– Don’t tell ’em it’s at Longtown, Pike!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
My thoughts exactly. Are we releasing GPS co-ordinates too, I wonder? Hope not!
I’m a retired civil servant, I have signed the official secrets act and stuff I see in public domain thesedays is nothing short of suicidal as comparedcto the discretion we used to have.
Massive target.
“Eggs in Baskets” !
But seriously this is great news, I’m guessing Solar Panels on the roof ? can’t really determine from the picture.
Then again “Cumbria” is not the best power generating place !!! Plenty of Cloud cover though.
Nice one, as I always say eggs in baskets and told uncle putin so it’s on the map now. God help us…..
No one’s building top secret underground storage for body armour.
I don’t know how people find a way to moan about everything, even a new warehouse.
“I don’t know how people find a way to moan about everything”.
Well That’s Ironic given nobody actually “Moaned” untill you “Moaned”. 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Would you not count complaining about “eggs in baskets and told uncle putin so it’s on the map now” as moaning…?
On a more practical note, this is the opposite of having all of our eggs in one basket; its a new facility, in a different part of the country, expanding a capability already in operation in two other locations.
It appears the only downside is that its been Fitted For But Not With sufficient warfighting material to last more than a month.
Nope. “Eggs in baskets” was humour, can’t see any reference to “Complaining” and the other comment is observation.
Some people like to read far too much into things so they can “Have a good moan”.
It’ll last longer than a month.. “stores are for storing” not distributing.
Exactly this!
There’s been an MOD base at this location for donkey’s years. To suggest that Uncle Vlad and his pals don’t know about it is absurd. All you have to do is buy an OS map and wonder about the large blank areas.
If Norway can generate a large quantity of solar energy I’m sure Cumbria can do a job. Let’s hope its advanced security measures can keep Palestine Action out. Solar powered electric fences perhaps.
You’ve not been to Cumbria then !!!! 😂⛈️🌧️🌩️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️
I’m sure Sellafield would light up the place if an intercontinental diverted 2 minutes from the (Lockerbie) US flight path…
Barrow in Furness could add to a large scale heating event as well.
However, when out on your bike, take a gander from Wrynose Pass over the Irish Sea and there are plenty of turbines.
Meanwhile, Duddon has re-opened last week and, in a week there have been several crashes as Darwinism attracts the songs.
Are we on the path to Nonwit???
Or Owit
It’s the Zero Wits on here that are the problem ! 🤦♂️😁
Too many grumpy folk, not enough humour, we only live once.
I’m at my wits end.
Well If you joined with “Mr Bell”, You could be “Bellend” !!!! 😁😁😁😁
Oh crikey, I’ll never get out of here alive !
Not the first time that has been done here.
Several years ago, posters led by Captain PW wanted to sail a T45 around Spain firing rotting Chickens from its VLS at Spanish vessels, in retaliation for Spain’s Gibraltar incursions. It was hilarious, although it didn’t go down well with some, like Mr H at the time.
Mr Bell volunteered, and the Captain said he could “man” the Bellend.
Ah, Humour has been on here before then ?
“Captain PW”, “Mr H” and Mr Bell, sounds like a Gerry Anderson Series !
Do T45’s actually sail then ? I never knew.
How true! “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit”(or a lack of wit)
Well, thank you for lightening things up Halfwit 🙂
Thank you and I hope I get to live to 100 too.1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 💯👌
Not quite 100 for me, 70 today, heading out on the Vstrom for a good long ride!
Fellow Biker, at last a chat mate with Bikes and Humour. V-Stroms are way too tall for me being a short arse ! I do love a V Twin though, I have a great Tuono that’s a little bit nice.
Happy Birthday, keep doing it, I intend to for a while longer.
I love those Aprilia’s, beautiful bikes! I’m a bit more retro and when I have finished my TVR I am thinking of looking for a 1977 Ducati 900ss
Ha, Clickbait ! Go on then, what TVR is it ?
1972 TVR Vixen 2500, California Aston Sage, every single nut, bolt and washer redone. Taking it to the track in Spring.
Wow, rare car now, can’t be many left, I’m amazed you are not just a fellow Biker but a fellow TVR owner.
Want a race ? 😁
Its been a long “non’linear” restoration but getting near completion. Which TVR do you have? Race sounds good 🙂
Mate, You’ll hate me, most people do !
I have one of the first 4.6 Cerbera’s but a very small willy !
Nah, more like I admire your taste! I’ll pass on the race LOL. I just have 2.5 litres and 148bhp (0.050″ off the head and stage 2 cam and Goodparts 6>3>1 header) but 2085lbs and 50/50 weight distribution so the handling should be brilliant.
How would I get in touch with you to chat?
Love the Wrynose and Hardknott Pass, done it a few times now, first time was on a Hayabusa, 200bhp, 266KG’s and Pissing down with rain and Sheep Shit all over the “Road”, It was epic, certainly not for Dimwits with issues, that’s for sure. It was the same on other occasions, rain, rain and more rain, with mist and fog too. Cumbria is amazing on a big powerfull bike, even with the shit weather.
Seen all those places, Sellafield and the entire coast, all the passes and most of the lakes, It’s a glorious place on two wheels.
Thanks for your “Crashes” comment and the “Darwinsism” ref, It’s often a sign of Biker hatred/Ignorance.
Love your latest Handle too, It’s nice to see I’m not the only Halfwit on here but maybe you could be a bit happier, less of a “Grinch” ?
This is one of many sites, also not for munitions or vehicles – mostly spares, uniform etc not requiring unerground storage.
Does this mean we are thinking of actually storing some recently ‘obsolete’ equipment?
No, It’s the new TEMU Depot.
More of this please.
Legs got slightly wobbly at the mention of an onsite rail connection.
Seriously though I have to say I’m impressed that someone actually improved defence infrastructure. We talk a lot about needing more kit, and we do, but as the submarine fleet shows: the stuff is useless without the infrastructure to support it.
The rail connection already existed, for DM Longtown.
Other sites like Bicester, DM Kineton, and DM Glen Douglas also have the vital railway connection.
Ashchurch did too, unsure if it’s current now.
The new facility is welcome, but it bucks a trend of the several storage and munitions sites that have been lost after the Cold War in the never ending rounds of cuts.
Until 6 years ago there was a daily trip working for the MOD into Longtown ,connecting to a trunk working from Scotland to Didcot to connect to Bicester & Kineton .and vice versa .This was withdrawn due to lack of traffic and DB Cargo the rail haulier pulling the plug on the trunk service .The only services into out of DM Longtown these days are block explosives trains which run sporadically .
Morning Boris.
Thanks for this. I was aware of the Didcot link, as a chap I work with is a spotter! And goes to Didcot often. He’d told me about the MoD traffic drying up there, but I wasn’t up to speed on how the services actually worked. Thanks.
Until 6 years ago there was a daily trip working for the MOD into Longtown ,connecting to a trunk working from Scotland to Didcot to connect to Bicester & Kineton .and vice versa .This was withdrawn due to lack of traffic and DB Cargo the rail haulier pulling the plug on the trunk service .The only services into out of DM Longtown these days are block explosives trains which run sporadically .
Yeah what could possibly fo wrong, typical economist/pen pusher great foresight, all thats missing is the huge bullseye on the roof.🙄
What a pointless comment, it’s a warehouse not a nuclear missile base.
I guess that you would have built 1200 small sheds all over the country with underground rail links to every port and airport in the country or something equally preposterous.
No, his unspoken request for an expeditionary underground hardened storage bunker is perfectly reasonable! In fact, the carriers should get a storage bunker underground as well!
Not true, there are remote valleys in the Yorkshire Dale’s and the Lakes where accessed by underground railway… we have several tunnel boring machines available having completed the HS2 route, why not?
A strike on Derwent Valley would achieve nothing and it’s about time they rebuilt the overground Settle and Carlisle line.
Meanwhile, I’m going underground!
“Meanwhile, I’m going underground” !
Please don’t, I like having an equal to talk to, It makes a nice change and you seem to like talking about Bikes, It’s my favourite subject.
Ever ridden one ?
Since 17. However, I prefer an iconic style aka Vespa PX200E.
And yes, I her over Hardknott and Wrynose. To Aberystwyth, over the Dale’s to Scarborough, through Slovakia and other places North.
You’re just a biker, I’m a Statement 😉
Ah, I started at 14, legally at 16, passed my test at 17, been riding ever since. 46 years countless bikes (Proper ones not Girly Scoots) and many Countries too, looks like there are three of us here now.
I’ve done the Army 500CC single stroke, break a leg, in Europe.
However, prefer the epitome of style and iconic class of an old style P2.
3 special tools and spares in the butty box and you could take her apart, in the rain under a groundsheet,at Midhurst, and be back on the road by stupid o’clock
I win!
Lovely story ! I got into it properly after a Pillion ride on a big Suzuki back in 1979, then I was hooked on power, still am now all these years later.
Nothing better than a Busa at the Red Line !
Well it does make sense to have a distribution hub further north than Bicester, Donnington, Stafford, which are all central.
Umm you actually need great big obvious storage facilities to store all the stuff an army needs.. they are generally always great big square or rectangular buildings with easy access for HGVs.. it’s the same sort of building every army stores its stuff in.. what do you expect building a Cheyenne Mountain Complex costing a few billion quid to store a load of helmets etc in it ?
You would be really disappointed to see what sort of tin shed hangers our wildcat force gets stored in….
Since 17. However, I prefer an iconic style aka Vespa PX200E.
And yes, I her over Hardknott and Wrynose. To Aberystwyth, over the Dale’s to Scarborough, through Slovakia and other places North.
You’re just a biker, I’m a Statement 😉
“I’m a Statement”
Ha, a Fashion Statement !
How many mirrors have you got on your scooter ?
None. Scooterboy not Mod. Northern Soul, keep the faith.
Ahh, Northern lad eh ? Poor so a Scooter is all you could afford !!!
Does it have gears or is it like one of those annoying automatic things that young oiks seem to ride nowadays ?
Oh hang on, I bet It’s a Two Stroke, in which case I’ll forgive you !
Being serious though, Enjoy the ride, I still get my kicks and would never want to not be able to “Get my leg over”.
Please stick around on here #it’s all in the wrist.
COD has been at Longtown since WW1.
Perfectly situated for supplying the defence of Prituni against the Denovians up North. #FreeAtropia
“Free Atropia”.
That’s Aberbaijan, ULYA’S neck !
Have you been on exercise up there with those protagonists?
A Parliamentary Question needs to be asked as to the cost of the IT systems. Think of a number and add a few zeros.
So what are we putting in it? Have we ordered something?
Now, don’t be silly.
To paraphrase Bernard Woolly, “We haven’t done that Minister, but if we did it would be awfully well stored.”
I love that programme. Forty odd years on and true to the day.
I never watched a single episode (sadly) spent a lot of my youth getting drunk, chasing girls and riding bikes !
Never could ride a bike but …..
Geoff, maybe sarcasm there, but if not. General stores, like what is at Bicester and Donnington. So, thousands of item types.
Even our reduced military with its lack of investment from HMG has millions of items that need storing.
You should go onto Google Earth and look at the warehouses that cover Donnington, Bicester, Stafford.
One location at Donnington has the metal from which VCs are made, Stafford has aircraft engines amongst other stuff.
All key facilities that should have GBAD of some kind.
The wider Longtown site is just a huge ammunition depot, another was further west at Eastriggs but I think that is no longer used.
Ammunition sites ( known as Defence Munitions sites) in MoD terminology, are usually separate from Storage sites, so Dinnington, Bicester, they didn’t not store bulk munitions stocks. So locating this facility here is unusual, but makes sense due to the size of the site, the rail link, and that there’s few other places available up north.
The nearest was the RAF MU at Carlisle. Yes, long sold off.
VC’s made from a Bronze Cannon from memory.
Yes, from the Crimea I believe.
There is an area just outside Blaenau FFestiniog that the locals used to call the Crimera Pass, as it looked like the landscape the troops found in Crimea. Hope history does not repeat itself….
Didn’t know that. All I knew about Blaenau Ffestiniog is that the mines there that were mooted as a possible RSG in the Cold War, and apparently housed some of the nations art treasures.
I don’t know much about the Crimean war, but in WWI and WWII lots of slate miners from Blanaeu, who were used to working with explosives, joined the Royal Engineers. I must track down some archive footage of my uncle hoisting an uxb out of St Paul’s cathedral that we saw broadcast on the telly once..
It seems the rail yard at Eastriggs is being used to store locos and rolling stock
Oh, didn’t know that, Simon.
A company called Railway Sidings are leasing the internal sidings for storage. The rest of the site it is hard to tell what is happing
Just being naughty, my friend. I don’t know enough about the logistics but I’m happy to be guided by you.
Slightly larger than Morrisons Depot near Bridgwater, Somerset. See Googles Maps.
Bridgewater= Smelly Town ! or it used to.
There’s an old Amunition site just across the M5 from memory, huge place.
Well, I often think the comments throw up very interesting information, thank you for yours.
Lol, I know a lot of shit about a lot of shit and talk shit a lot ! 💩💩💩😁
It’s what happens when you’re old! You have experience a lot of shit know a lot of shit’ have shit loads of wisdom but at the same time talks load of shit all the while the younger generations don’t give a shit what you say, know shit all about shit and end up in shit you saw coming…it’s my new 8 piles theory to life the universe and everything.
Yup “Shit” and “Piles” happen !!!!
Try riding a Vespa for 40 years…
You’ll have piles and been through some shit 😉
Haha, again !
Never ridden a Scooter, never really wanted to but I’m sure it must after 40 years riding !
The old Cellophane factory.. but in reality everyone knows it was the residents..or that’s what people in Taunton thought anyway.
Ah but the wind was in the wrong direction, so It can’t have been !
Now Hincley Point was another possibility. 😁👽💩☠️
Isn’t that an old ROF?
Think so, It was a while back but I remember it was huge and spread out.
Just checked on Google and It’s still there, still huge !
Yes, next to Puriton, as an old ROF. Being redeveloped apparently.
“Being Redeveloped” ?
More accomodation I guess !
I think you are referring to the former ROF Puriton. Now being completely redeveloped for housing and industrial use, including a large EV battery manufacturing site for JLR.
Local Lad.
Rammed with biscuits brown and screech.
As if the HMG will ever buy enough kit to need something that big.
Are you me?
Also load of empty hangars on ex-RAF now Army barracks that could be been re purposed at fraction of cost. But as usual all politicians and Flag Ranks love grand announcements of pointless wastes of money.
To be fair this is located at DM Longtown. It’s not a waste of money to build it where the infrastructure already exists, rail link etc.
Which ones?
As they’re now Army Barracks, I’d assume the Army actually use them.
It will sit empty, the UK is going to miss its NATO spending target of 2.5% and its becoming clear cuts to the military are coming.
Military fulfilment centre. Good to have modern storage.
So one big target for the enemy and all our materiel is gone. This might be cost effective, but seems strategically naïve to me.
Funny, another brand new account said the same without seemingly reeding the article !!!
What a lovely shed.
Does it have a sprinkler system? Remembering the two disaster MoD warehouse fires in the 1980s, that lacked sprinklers as a cost saving measure. Instead, hundreds of millions in spares & kit were lost.
John, they solved the “fire” issues at Donnington by doing away with stock checks. No accounting for pilfered kit, so no need to destroy evidence that it’s no longer there 😀😀😀. Was amazing how the RAOC managed to blame the fire at Donnington for no availability with the acronym FOFSD. (F-Off, Fire at Donnington), when the items you were ordering weren’t even originally store there, but at other sites such as Bicester or Chilwell.
The amount of depots/storage facilities that were closed in the past was ridiculous, all to save a few pennies in the short term.
Agreed.
great, just what the country needs, a big shed
Sheds are great, I would love a Shed that size to keep Bikes and Cars in.
Shed Envy can be a terrible thing.
Without sheds like this, the frontline fails.
Lol, “We’re going to need a bigger Shed” then !
We will. There are others, though.
Any British man without a shed after the age of 30, can consider himself a failure.
Man cave!
I pulled myself up from failure, then, as I lived in a flat until I was 34! 😆
I almost live in mine !
From what you say about the number of times you get a yellow card from the missus, I’m not surprised!
She calls it “The Sin Bin” !!!
“Off to the Sin Bin” lol.
Is it timed, like in Rugby Union?
You probably encourage it!
Ha, yes mate, I deliberately get into trouble, earlier I managed to get in there and do some paintwork correction on one of my “Bloody Toys” !
Reverse psychology works a treat .
Seems to me you lot are just jealous over the size of their new shed 😉
I am! Could model Willesden Junct in 00 scale in that beast.
How cool would OHLE, 3rd and 4th rail with tube, slows, commuter, semi fast, fasts, container and other freight be on that model.
Need to find my sock!
I had you down as a Barbie lover, I bet you have a pink Scooter too !!! 😁🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵