A GROUP of politicians who battled to save part of two Army barracks based in a city have expressed their dismay after the government confirmed it would close both sites.

Ripon and Skipton MP Julian Smith and leading councillors paid tribute to the armed forces in Ripon after the Ministry of Defence said Claro and Deverell Barracks would be sold alongside ten other defence sites which could raise £500 million.

Ripon councillor Alan Skidmore, a former commandant at Deverell, said: "It is a huge disappointment that we will no longer have a regiment present in the city."

The Ministry of Defence initially announced the closures in 2013, in a £240 million-a-year cost-cutting drive designed to pave the way for the return of 15,500 British troops based in Germany.

Since the plan to move 21 Engineers Regiment to Catterick Garrison in 2017 was unveiled, ministers had been pressed by North Yorkshire politicians to consider retaining a section of the Claro base.

Calls to keep the 270 married quarters in the city also received support from Ministry of Defence.

After the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds warned the move would cause substantial economic and social damage to the city, an economic study found both barracks' closure would only have a marginal impact.

It concluded the economic damage would be less than first feared as the soldiers spent much time away from Ripon, with many currently serving in the Falkland Islands, while their families increasingly chose to live in their home towns.

Mr Smith said he was disappointed by the decision, adding he hoped the city would now be able to move forward and maximise the sites' use.

He said: ‘The support that Ripon has given to those regiments stationed there over the years has been fantastic and I hope strong links will be maintained between the city and our armed forces as so many service men and women and their families will continue to live here."

Ripon county councillor Bernard Bateman said he believed shortages of housing for personnel in Catterick Garrison and Dishforth would mean the accommodation in Ripon would be needed for some time.

He added: "When the College of Ripon St John closed everyone thought it would be a disaster for the city, but it brought in a lot of good housing. Ripon will come out of the barracks' closure well in the end."