THE Hercules are big flying beasts and the crews, associated service personnel and their families will create just as big an impact on their arrival in Oxfordshire.

The final part of the Hercules fleet flew in to its new home at RAF Brize Norton yesterday as it was revealed the switch from RAF Lyneham could be worth £52m a year ultimately for the local economy. There will be 2,600 service personnel moving in, along with about 1,400 relatives, and that is a huge number.

Without MoD capacity to house all of them, it will initially mean an increase in demand for (and therefore cost of) housing.

But the other implications should be positive, provided authorities like Oxfordshire County Council and the primary care trust manage the infrastructure.

Some of the schools, for instance, around Carterton have seen a drop in pupil numbers. More families will mean more pupils and therefore better facilities at those schools – something we would expect the local community will demand.

But it is the overall economic spending power that is the real boon for the county. Given the hard times on the High Street, £1m a week swishing around will be very handy.