A threatened Army base has won a stay of execution after Ministers scrapped plans to close it next year.
The army engineering and repair workshops in Castle Donnington, Shropshire, is to remain open.
But the future of the facility, which employs 628 people, is still not assured.
Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said the base was needed to upgrade more of the Army's armoured fleet, but once the work is completed the closure plans could be put into motion again.
The site, run by the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO), repairs and maintain vehicles including Challenger II tanks and Warrior armoured vehicles, as well as radios and other equipment.
Last year the Ministry of Defence announced plans to close it by March 2007, as part of a streamlining of the armed forces logistical services.
Ministers said ABRO needed to change because it had become more efficient, reducing the number of staff needed, and because the MoD was changing the way it bought equipment.
Suppliers are now expected to provide maintenance services themselves, so there is less need for the armed forces to run its own repair shops, according to the Government.
The planned closure was part of a package of measures which included closing ABRO facilities in Wiltshire and Essex, losing 210 jobs at the head office in Hampshire, and sacking 500 people in South Wales due to cuts at the Defence Aviation Repair Agency.
The reprieve was welcomed by Keith Austin, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council.
He said: "The workforce and the trade unions recognised the responsibility they have to support our frontline troops on active service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I'm sure the Minister has been impressed by the committed and responsible way the trade unions and the ABRO workforce have campaigned in the fight to save their own jobs."
The announcement gave the council and the unions a "breathing space for further discussions" with ABRO management and the MoD, he said.
jon_walker@mrn.co.uk
