£10m accommodation block for injured recruits opens at Royal Marines training centre

A new £10m 'state-of-the-art' accommodation block has been opened at the Royal Marines' principal training centre in Devon.

Based at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) in Lympstone, the building will house Royal Marine recruits who have been injured during training.

Known as the Comacchio Building after one of the Marines' famous Second World War battle honours, it has 181 beds, as well as support facilities, recreation areas and offices.

• Royal Marines defeat US Marines in gruelling five-day battle exercise 
• Housing development named after fallen Royal Marine 
• How the Royal Marines began

There are 21 eight-bed rooms and one 10-bed unit, plus three single rooms which can be used for support staff or individual troops.

Inside the building are multifunction communal spaces, equipped with televisions, projectors/screens, and a kitchenette that can be used as a classroom with provision for IT, when required, or for individual learning.

Simon Jones, Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) Project Manager, said: "This purpose-built facility will provide modern and essential accommodation to personnel and to allow them to continue training as they recover from injury and undergo rehabilitation prior to re-joining their normal unit."

The new facility was opened by the Commandant of the CTCRM, Colonel Simon Chapman.