WEST Mercia police has received a further boost to its controversial plans to turn the former MoD airbase, RAF Defford, into a new police training centre following the grant of a Certificate of Lawful Use of an Existing Development (CLUED).

The formal document, granted to current leaseholders QinetiQ by Wychavon District Council, states what the land has been used for and is needed to outline a precedent for future planning applications.

West Mercia police spokesman Richard Bull confirmed an earlier statement that "the Defford site would be used for general policing purposes, some relating to uniformed officers, some to non-uniformed.

"There would also be an unspecified number of police staff at the location. Now that the CLUED has been negotiated and agreed between the previous tenants, QinetiQ and Wychavon District Council, we can go ahead with our planned refurbishments," he said.

"West Mercia Constabulary will ultimately make planning applications relating to its intended uses of the Defford site, but not immediately.

"We have always been totally open about our general proposals for the site and have never hidden the fact that we intend to use part of it for a skid-pan as an integral element of our ongoing advanced driver training."

RAF Defford, the former Ministry of Defence site, became the centre of much controversy when West Mercia police announced plans to turn the site into a training centre with plans to build a skid-pan which residents claim could be noisy.

The site was leased by QinetiQ, a global defence, technology and security company, until it moved most of the business to the Malvern base after losing an MoD contract in 2004.

The lease of the site has since been transferred by QinetiQ to West Mercia police.