THE closure of Swansea Coastguard has been confirmed.

Transport Minister Mike Penning told MPs today that the station in Mumbles, which employs 28 people, would close by 2015.

Stations at Holyhead and Milford Haven, originally earmarked for closure, have been granted a reprieve.

The proposals were announced for consultation in July, after previous ones, which would have seen Milford Haven closed and Swansea reduced to daytime cover only, were ditched.

The justification for the decision was that Swansea already had high levels of public sector employment, such as at the DVLA.

But the proposals sparked widespread anger and a campaign to save Swansea's station collected 100,000 signatures.

The Government has argued the changes will make the Coastguard better coordinated, more resilient to the challenges of the future and will increase the number of regular coastguard officers working in coastal communities, who provide leadership and support to the volunteers of the Coastguard Rescue Service.

It will create a nationally networked system of Coastguard coordination centres comprising:

*One Maritime Operations Centre, to be established in Fareham, Hants, with a back-up facility at the existing Dover coordination centre, both operating on a 24 hour basis; and,

*Eight Coastguard Centres, all operated on a 24 hour basis, located at Falmouth, Milford Haven, Holyhead, Belfast, Stornoway, Shetland, Aberdeen and Humber. The station at London is also retained.

Mr Penning said: "After many years of uncertainty, these reforms provide a clear plan for the future of Her Majesty's Coastguard. They will deliver a resilient and fully networked national rescue coordination service. They will make much better use of the talents and skills of our Coastguards and will provide more interesting and rewarding work with better pay.

"The UK coastguard has a great heritage. This is a blueprint for a 21st century Coastguard that commands even greater respect and it will provide an organisation of which coastguards themselves and all of us can be justly proud."

Under the plans the Coastguard co-ordination centres at Forth, Clyde, Great Yarmouth, Liverpool, Thames, Swansea, Brixham and Portland will close progressively by March 31, 2015. 

New coastal operational hubs - providing better leadership, support and training for the volunteers of the Coastguard Rescue Service - will be established at the existing sites at Swansea, Liverpool and Thames, as well as in the Clyde area, and through the further development of the MCA's site at the former HMS Daedalus at Lee-on-Solent.

Following the decision, Wales Office Minister David Jones welcomed it, whilst acknowledging the disappointment for Swansea. 

He said: "I am pleased to see Milford Haven and Holyhead stations are to become part of a new nationally networked coastguard system. This is part of proposals to re-structure the UK's existing coastline services.  "I understand the disappointment concerning the future of Swansea Coastguard station; however, overall Wales retains two out of three of its coastguard stations, up from one under the previous administration's plans."

But Llanelli MP Nia Griffith said the fight would continue.

"We will certainly contest this decision all the way because Swansea is one of the busiest coastguard stations in the country and has a vital role to play in the safety of the Bristol Channel so the fight will go on to the day the station is closed.

"It looks very political when they close the bigger of the two stations when the coastguard people themselves in the initial consultation stated the importance of retaining the Swansea coastguard station in the UK service so this decision does smell very fishy indeed."