Military families to move into new high-quality net zero accommodation

British Army personnel and their families will soon move into the newly completed net zero carbon accommodation at Imjin Barracks in Gloucestershire.

The announcement came after a report published by Labour revealed that one-third of Armed Forces personnel were living in the lowest grade of accommodation.

"The facilities and interior have been completed to an impressive standard and the design will contribute to local efforts to reduce the Army's carbon footprint," said Major General Richard Clements, the director of Army Basing and Infrastructure.

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Mike Green, the chief executive of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, added: "The new accommodation being delivered by DIO and its partners for single soldiers and military families at Imjin Barracks will benefit hundreds of personnel.

"This work reflects DIO's continuing commitment to providing the best possible accommodation for the Armed Forces."

The Ministry of Defence has vowed to reduce its emissions and increase its sustainability activity in line with the UK's commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Imjin Barracks is the home of Nato's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and is the first site to benefit from the new net zero carbon accommodation initiative.

The new Single Living Accommodation is made up of 69 single en-suite bedrooms, a communal living space, and kitchen and dining facilities.

The building includes sustainable features such as photovoltaic panels, air source heat pumps for heating and hot water.

A smart building management system will learn how the building is used and ensure that it runs as efficiently as possible.

Service families will also benefit from new high-quality, energy-efficient homes as the first of 176 new carbon net zero homes are set to be completed soon.

The new homes include sustainability measures such as low-carbon heating systems, smart heating controls and electric vehicle charging points for every property.

The £13m project was delivered by DIO on behalf of the Army, working with off-site construction specialist Reds10 and design and engineering consultant Arcadis.

Phil Cook, the defence sector lead at Reds10, said: "It has been a pleasure to work on this first SLA (service living accommodation) alongside DIO, the British Army, Arcadis and the rest of the project team, improving the lived experience for Armed Forces personnel.

"The triple-storey net zero carbon building was built off-site in our East Yorkshire factory and delivered to site 90% complete, allowing substantially faster delivery and of course less disruption to an active military site.

"Most importantly, the design of the building has been led by how the spaces will actually be used by occupants, so it’s wonderful to see this start to happen."