Some 400 staff at a military research centre in Kent are expected not to relocate to other parts of the country when the facility closes.  It comes aftter Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) said its operations at Fort Halstead near Sevenoaks were to shut down by 2016.  The site's 840 employees have been offered the option to relocate to other parts of the country more than 100 miles away.

Michael Fallon, the MP for Sevenoaks, held what he labelled a "reasonably constructive" meeting with defence procurement minister Peter Luff over the future of the site on Wednesday.

He was joined by Jo Johnson, the MP for Orpington, and Sevenoaks District Council's leader, Peter Fleming, and chief executive, Robert Hales.  "Plenty of work lies ahead," he said. "If they relocate it is a big upheaval, but the priority is to make sure those who do not want to relocate stay in the labour market."

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