Given what happened to LETE - which was a World Class Land System testing site -- I am sure it will be bulldozed and sold.
When I was at AM(MAT) in the mid 2000s, the CAF had access to this facilities even though it is now owned and controlled by the RCMP; in fact we ran a major Armoured Vehicle trial there.
From what I was told LETE used to be in the middle of no where. The developers, while knowing that this was a test facility started building homes around it. The inevitable happened. The neighbours would complain about the loud noise, trembling ground and smoke that things like Leopards tanks, LAVs, Gizzlies, Bisons and other vehicles would make especially tests that would run late into the evening. LETE would try to cooperate and keep the noise levels down and testing within normal business hours, however if your backyard is within 30 metres or less, of the track and a Leopard is rumbling on the test track, it would be noisy, the ground would shake and the diesel fumes would linger.
The neighbours would complain to their local MP. The MP would drive pass the test facility everyday and see nothing happening on the outside while not realizing that extensive tests were being performed inside the facilities and out of sight from the public. This local Liberal MP started making inquiries and with the Liberal Government, who were in power, eventually shut down the facility.
IMO :
- the Army lost a world class engineering facility with highly educated civilian and military staff centred in one place. We would be reliant on paying money for access to other engineering facilities or having contractors perform the tests. For example the Canadian Army would use the United States Army Aberdeen proving grounds in Maryland, USA. You can imagine access to this ground would be difficult as we are not considered a priority for the Americans unless the equipment to be tested would be of great interest to them. There are the TD costs, security clearances and so forth.
- the local city planning council is at fault for letting developers build houses too close to the test facility.
- the local MP, who made political points for his/her constituents without understanding, and there I say not caring, about the long term consequences to the CAF
- the Canadian Army will not build another facility like LETE again. Besides the initial large cost, there is an issue of where to build, the need to attract and retain talent and the general lack of will by the Canadian Army senior leadership to support a LETE like facility.
I do not blame the senior military authorities at the time for I'm sure that they tried to do their best. They were facing a rather a hostile political environment, uncaring public towards the military, and a declining military budget.
I think that the RCMP still owes and maintains these facilities and the CAF still has access to it. I hope that the RCMP do not lose it.