DEFENCE chiefs are being urged to save a Hampshire military base that employs 200 people and contributes more than £4.5m to the local economy.

In a letter to New Forest East MP Dr Julian Lewis, workers at RAF Hythe say that its closure would have a "catastrophic" impact on the area.

The 11-acre shipyard at Shore Road, Hythe, is one of the largest employers on the Waterside.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the facility is used by the American army, which has decided to quit the waterfront site in September.

The announcement has sparked fears that the land will be sold for housing.

Now the large civilian workforce is calling on the Ministry of Defence to retain the complex and use it to repair UK defence craft.

Their letter to Dr Lewis asks: "If the US army were to close the base, what would be the possibility of the MoD keeping this unique site, and its experienced employees, to carry out the repair and maintenance of its own equipment?"

The letter says shutting the base would result in the loss of an important and industrious facility.

It adds: "If the closure is confirmed this would not only impact on the 200-plus employees but would be catastrophic to the local economy (£4.5m, not including salaries) as it's one of the last major employers on the Waterside.

"The need for housing should not and cannot come at the expense of employment."

Dr Lewis, who has met workers' representatives, said he had asked armed forces minister Adam Ingram to press the US army to delay its departure from the base.

Talks with the US embassy were likely to be held in the second week of May, he said.

Dr Lewis branded the proposed closure a crazy decision and said there was enough work to keep RAF Hythe fully occupied until September 2007 at the earliest, with three tug boats under refurbishment.

"One cannot escape the conclusion that the hasty closure has more to do with bureaucratic politics in the US Defense Department than any rational plan," he said.

Hythe councillor Maureen Robinson raised the issue at a meeting of New Forest District Council.

She said: "RAF Hythe is a very important site with fantastic facilities and should not be lost to the local economy.

Council chairman Michael Pemberton said: "I'm sure that in due time the council will find a way of assisting as best we can."

Council leader Mel Kendal said the authority would work closely with Dr Lewis.

An MoD spokesman said: We will carry out a full assessment of the facilities once they have been handed over."