Government to build 100,000+ homes on surplus defence land, Defence Secretary says
Surplus MOD land is set to be released to build thousands of new homes at Chetwynd Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Wyton airfield.
A new taskforce has been created involving the Defence Secretary, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Deputy Prime Minister to cut through red tape and develop the land as quickly as possible, the Government has revealed.
Defence Secretary John Healey said he has identified the long-term opportunity to build more than 100,000 homes on surplus defence land, improving opportunities for homeownership and creating jobs across the country.
The first of these sites to begin delivering homes, which are expected to be built in this Parliament, includes a site in Ripon, which will be transferred from the MOD to Homes England to allow construction at Deverell Barracks to start within 12 months to speed up the delivery of 1,300 homes.
A new partnership between the MOD and Homes England will also aim to unlock a further 1,300 homes by partially releasing land at Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell, and deliver thousands of new homes at Wyton airfield in Cambridgeshire in the coming years.
"This taskforce is to look more widely at defence sites, which are surplus to requirements. Some of the homes will be for forces families, some may well be for veterans and that will be determined site by site," Mr Healey told BFBS Forces News.
This latest announcement comes ahead of a new Defence Housing Strategy, which is being released later this summer.
Mr Healey described the partnership between the MOD and Homes England as a "trailblazer approach" to releasing public land although he said there will not be a "fire sale" of public assets.
He added: "This heralds a new, trailblazer approach to the use of public land, which will not be a fire sale of public assets, but a truly cross-government effort to remove blockers, deliver homes and boost growth in support of our Plan for Change."
These initiatives follow the introduction of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to Parliament, which will see significant measures introduced to speed up planning decisions to increase housebuilding.
The Spring Statement
The housing proposals follow Chancellor Rachel Reeves' string of announcements for the Armed Forces in the Spring Statement.
She said that the defence budget will increase by £2.2bn in 2025/26, which takes the additional spending on defence to more than £5bn since the Autumn Budget.
The Chancellor said that part of the boost will be invested in fitting the Royal Navy's destroyers with DragonFire laser weapons, improving the accommodation for military families and modernising the naval base in Portsmouth.
Meanwhile, the Treasury have ringfenced a minimum of 10 per cent for equipment spending on developing technologies such as drones, autonomous systems, dual-use technology, and AI-powered capabilities.
Elsewhere, the Spring Statement announced defence policies such as:
- A new UK Defence Innovation unit in the MOD, which will find promising technology and make sure it gets to the frontline quickly.
- Creating a brand-new procurement process for different types of military equipment after learning lessons from supporting Ukraine to get tanks, aircraft and vessels operational in a shorter timescale.
- Ensuring the defence sector helps with economic growth through investment in new technologies.
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