Tri-Service

The MOD's £500 Million Property Sale

Twelve military sites are going on sale to generate £500 million for defence and free up land for new housing.

This is the first part of a Ministry of Defence plan to reduce the defence estate by almost a third.

The sites going on the market include airfields, naval bases and some historic sites.

The Ministry of Defence say they want to raise £500 million, money they promise to reinvest in defence.

They want to use the sites to provide land for 15,000 new homes, as part of the Government’s wider initiative to build 160,000 new homes by 2020.

The sell off will come as a handy boost for the defence budget.

More from Forces TV: Valuable MOD Estate Faces Cutbacks

The US Air Force announced in 2015 that they were leaving RAF Mildenhall but news of the MoD’s plans gives the local community more certainty about the future.

The rebasing and closures announcement in Scotland three years ago meant the closure of Craigiehall, the former headquarters of the British Army in Scotland.

The MoD have said they won’t put individual price tags on the properties, for fear of compromising the bidding process nor will they specify future use for the sites.

However, some hold particular significance for those who serve. Countless forces musicians have passed through Kneller Hall and the Military School of Music.

Training will now move to a different site as defence music undergoes a wider review.

The Wardroom in HMS Nelson in Portsmouth is dripping with history and detail, but sits outside the wire and the MoD have decreed a wardroom facility could be transferred within the naval base and the original building is now included in this sale.

The Ministry of Defence say the current defence estate is undergoing a major review which will report back later in the year and these 12 sites are just the first in line for sale.