More housing built for single soldiers and families as cyber unit moves to new home

Two hundred and forty-eight Single Living Accommodation (SLA) rooms will be built for the Army's cyber regiment in Gloucestershire after a £279m contract was signed, the Ministry of Defence has announced. 

The SLA rooms will be accompanied by 30 new Service Family Accommodation homes and the refurbishment of existing military homes at the site, as the department invests in new infrastructure at Duke of Gloucester Barracks for 13 Signal Regiment, which delivers defensive cyber operations for the Army. 

Alongside the housing, brand-new technical and training buildings for personnel will be constructed, which will house the Army's Cyber, Information and Security Operations Centre. 

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The centre will defend networks from cyber threats, both at home and overseas, during exercises and operations. 

"Our Strategic Defence Review highlights how the cyber and electromagnetic domain are at the heart of modern warfare," Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard said. 

"We are making this significant investment to enhance the Army's cyber capabilities while delivering an improved lived experience for service personnel, alongside new homes for service families." 

The construction work is scheduled to begin in the summer next year, and is expected to be completed by spring 2030, to support the regiment's relocation to the barracks. 

The UK government's Strategic Defence Review highlighted that the cyber and electromagnetic domains are at the centre of modern warfare after more than 90,000 attacks on the UK's military networks by adversaries in the last two years alone. 

The Government is also creating a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command to put the UK at the forefront of cyber operations. 

The MOD is funding modern, sustainable infrastructure designed to meet future operational requirements and enhance the lived experience of military personnel through its Defence Estate Optimisation (DEO) Portfolio. 

"Investment in new infrastructure at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks will enable the growth of the Army's cyber capability and enhance operational readiness," Major General AJ Smith, director of basing and infrastructure and senior responsible owner for the DEO Army programme, said. 

"This project is a great example of our ongoing effort to modernise our estate, improve the environments where our people live, work and train, and provide the facilities they need to carry out their vital roles for UK defence."

"We are proud to be leading the ambitious modernisation of Duke of Gloucester Barracks," Andrew Mackay, managing director of public sector and regions at Bovis Homes, said. 

"This programme – delivering high-quality Single Living Accommodation alongside our major infrastructure enhancements and upgrades to existing buildings – will provide our Armed Forces with the modern, sustainable facilities they deserve. 

"As a longstanding and valued client, we look forward to working closely with the DIO (Defence Infrastructure Organisation) to achieve their ambitions."

In December last year, the MOD revealed that the department had finished the renovation of 1,000 of the worst Armed Forces housing ahead of schedule. 

The programme had seen significant works undertaken at service family homes across the UK.