ALAN MCEWEN
Edinburgh Evening News
15 September 2005
THE Royal Highland Fusiliers are set to move their base from Cyprus to a massive new barracks in the Lothians.
The battalion will be based at Glencorse barracks, near Penicuik, under a radical shake-up of the armed forces.
Around 600 troops will make their home in Midlothian from spring next year after a revamp of the barracks is completed.
Homes for married personnel and their families will be built at the nearby Milton Bridge camp.
The troops will be based permanently at Glencorse, ending Army policy of rotating to different bases in a move designed to increase stability.
Soldiers from the Royal Highland Fusiliers recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, where they were based in Basra.
The battalion was deployed in the war-torn country in January to help maintain security before its general elections.
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They have been stationed at the Mediterranean base in Cyprus since April 2003 after shifting from their previous home at Fort George in Inverness. The six regiments of the Scottish Division, which includes the Royal Highland Fusiliers, will soon be amalgamated into a single "super-regiment", called the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The Royal Highland Fusiliers will remain a battalion within this regiment.
The Defence Housing Executive will build 151 homes at Milton Bridge, located on Belwood Road. Family quarters for officers and servicemen will be created along with a youth and childcare centre.
Glencorse was closed as an infantry training centre around four years ago, until it was chosen to house the new barracks. But it was not known until today which battalion would be stationed at the Glencorse base.
Penicuik itself has a tradition as a military base which stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century.
An Army spokeswoman said: "The regiment has been liaising with the local authorities and local community on integrating the soldiers and their families into the community in Penicuik."
It is thought the newly-formed Royal Scots and KOSB regiment may be based at Dreghorn barracks in the city.
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