Will your Military Base be closed down?

Over the coming years the Ministry of Defence (MOD) plans to overhaul its property portfolio which will see a number of bases closed down.

In 2016 the Defence Estate Optimisation (DEO) mobilised an ambitious 25-year portfolio of construction activity, unit and personnel moves, and site disposals that will deliver a better structured, more economical and modern estate that more effectively supports military capability.

The DEO portfolio was to implement the MOD’s Footprint Strategy (FS) to contribute to the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review’s (SDSR) commitment to invest in key defence sites and reduce the departments-built estate. SDSR also laid out that the disposal of surplus Defence Estate would release public sector land for new homes as part of wider government housing objectives. FS was announced in part as “A Better Defence Estate” (BDE) by the Secretary of State in November 2016 pledging a multi-billion investment in the estate.

Major projects include the infrastructure for the Army’s STRIKE Brigades, Armoured Infantry Brigades, and Specialist Infantry Battalions; Royal Marine estate consolidation; and new RAF Officer and recruit training facilities, as well as the new home for the Red Arrows. DEO will also invest in over 25,000 new and refurbished houses and single living accommodation, 145,000m2 of contemporary office space for over 12,000 people, and 63 specialist military workshops and garages as well as medical, dental and sports facilities. Construction of this scale is calculated to create nearly 20,000 direct jobs within the UK.

As part of the optimisation process, defence will dispose of sites it no longer requires. These sites create opportunities for alternative use, resulting in regeneration, housing or business growth and job creation within the local area. Full details of the sites identified for disposal, subject to assessment, can be found below:

DEO Disposal Timeline

2021

Army

• Cavalry Barracks (Hounslow)

• Deverell Barracks (Ripon)

• Kneller Hall (Twickenham)

• Middlewick Ranges (Colchester)

DBS/HOCS/DIO/DE&S

• DIO Head Office (Sutton Coldfield)

• Athena House (Swindon)

2022

Army

• Catterick Town Centre Parcel (Catterick)

• Harden Barracks (Duchess of Kent Psychiatric Hospital) (Catterick)

• Parsons Barracks Donnington (Telford)

• Venning Barracks (Telford)

• St George’s Barracks North Luffenham (Oakham)

• Kinnegar Logistic Base (Holywood)

• Defence Support group (DSG) (Colchester)

• Forthside Stirling Meadowforth Barracks (HQ 51 Highland Brigade) (Stirling)

Royal Air Force (RAF)

• RAF Barnham (Thetford)

• RAF Scampton [close] (Lincolnshire)

DBS/HOCS/DIO/DE&S

• MOD Caledonia (Rosyth)

2023

Royal Navy

• HMS Nelson Wardroom (Portsmouth) Not before 2023.

Army

• Claro Barracks (Ripon)

• Commander and Staff Trainer (North) (Catterick)

Royal Air Force (RAF)

• 1300 Parkway, Bristol

• RAF Henlow (Henlow)

DBS/HOCS/DIO/DE&S

• DBS Finance Liverpool

• DBS Cheadle Hulme

• DBS Tomlinson House Norcross (Blackpool)

2024

Royal Navy

• The Royal Citadel (Plymouth)

Army

• Prince William of Gloucester Barracks (Grantham)

• Chilwell Station (Nottingham)

• Queen Elizabeth Barracks (Strensall)

• Sit John Moore Barracks Winchester (Winchester)

• Towthorpe Lines (Strensall)

• Aldershot Distribution Centre (Aldershot)

• Cawdor Barracks (Haverfordwest)

• Leighton House (AOSB Westbury) (Westbury)

Royal Air Force (RAF)

• RAF Alconbury (Alconbruy)

DBS/HOCS/DIO/DE&S

• Clayton Barracks (Aldershot)

2025

Army

• Clive Barracks (Market Drayton)

• Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks (Edinburgh)

• Southwick Park (Fareham)

• Sennybridge Storage Compound (Sennybridge)

Royal Air Force (RAF)

• RAF Coleme Airfield (Chippenham)

• RAF Halton (Aylesbury)

DBS/HOCS/DIO/DE&S

• MOD Police Wethersfield/ Wethersfield Airfield (Wethersfield)

2027

Royal Navy

• Royal Marines Stonehouse (Plymouth)

Army

• Fulwood Barracks (Preston)

• Dale Barracks (Chester) not before 2027

• Brecon Barracks (Brecon)

• Beachley Barracks (Beachley)

• Invicta Park Barracks (Maidstone)

Royal Air Force (RAF)

• RAF Mildenhall (Mildenhall) not before 2027

2028

Army

• St David’s Barracks (Bicester)

• Vauxhall Barracks (Didcot)

• Woolwich Station (Woolwich)

2029

Army

• Buckley Barracks (Hullavington Barracks) (Chippenham)

• Dalton Barracks including Abingdon Airfield (Abingdon)

Royal Air Force (RAF)

• HMS Sultan (Gosport) not before 2029

2031-32

Army

• Azimghur Barracks (Chippenham) [2031]

• Carver Barracks (Saffron Walden) [2031]

• Dsihforth Barracks Airfield (York) [2031]

• Imphal Barracks (York) [2021]

• Robertson Barracks (Dereham [2021]

• Fort George (Inverness) [2032]

• Glencorse Barracks (Penicuik) [2032]

Sources: Gov.UK