RECRUITMENT of staff has started at the 4500-acre weapon testing and evaluation range at Dundrennan, near Kirkcudbright, which has been taken over by the Army.

The Ministry of Defence is planning to spend more than #10m in the next 18 months to make it Britain's top infantry training facility.

Three years ago, the Government announced the closure of the range and the loss of 130 jobs, but the Army, which was looking for more training facilities because of the return of thousands of troops and the closure of bases in Germany, announced it would be taking it over and creating 40 jobs.

Recruitment will be completed over the next few weeks and commanding officer Colonel Grant Oliver said some of the 80 workers who lost their jobs with the closure of the test firing facilities, had been recruited.

New barracks and training areas will be completed by the year 2000, but some troops have been using the range over the past few years.

Once the major work has been finished, up to 500 troops will train at Dundrennan each fortnight on what will be one of the most modern infantry training ranges in Europe.

p Plans for a #35m sawmill and chipboard plant near Lockerbie have gone on view to the public.

If planning permission is given later this year, the area will be in line for hundreds of jobs.

Austrian timber giants Kronospan Ltd hope to build the plant at Steven's Croft, near Lockerbie in the autumn.