ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates the issues raised and offers a perspective on how the contested notion of the public good might be addressed in future. The property owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) across the UK represents both an unrivalled opportunity and a headache for policy-makers. The Bill Sargent Trust's concerns revolved around two issues: the economic and social impact of closures of military facilities, and the adverse effects of poorly planned and executed disposals. Forces for Good examines a number of sites, mainly in southern England, where the MoD had planned to sell land and property and community-based organisations had put forward proposals for their future use. Machrihanish, one of the largest airfields in Europe, was used by the US Navy during the cold war and returned to the MoD in 1995. The military past of places like Erskine Barracks and Haslar has a cultural footprint extending well beyond the boundaries of individual sites.
