15,000 new homes planned via likes of RAF Mildenhall and RAF Barnham.
No time soon, but it is said that when the US servicemen and servicewomen are planned to leave the sites, by 2020, plans will be in place to build 15,000 new homes on the sites of RAF Mildenhall and RAF Barnham. Mark Lancaster MP, Ministry of Defence, made the announcement in the House of Commons and this will be one of 12 other MOD sites which are planned to sold in order to generate an estimated £500 million for the Treasury Department.
Whether or not planning permission from the said local authorities have yet been applied for and granted, but it is expected that the 12 sites in question will have sufficient land to build around 15,000 new homes. (The sales of these RAF sites are part of the MOD’s planned 30% reduction).
Mr Lancaster is quoted as saying: “By streamlining the Defence estate, we will ensure that it better meets the needs of the Armed Forces well into the future. Defence has the strongest incentive to become more efficient; with every pound we make by disposing of excess land reinvested into a defence budget to keep Britain safe.”
“We are also making an important contribution of 55,000 homes to the wider Government housing targets. Every acre that we can free up will ensure that more people have the opportunity to own their own home.”
The 12 sites in question are:
- Claro and Deverell barracks in Ripon
- Lodge Hill in Kent
- Craigiehall in Edinburgh
- Kneller Hall in Twickenham
- HMS Nelson Wardroom in Portsmouth
- RAF Barnham in Suffolk
- MOD Felton in London
- RAF sites Molesworth and Alconbury in Cambridgeshire, and Mildenhall in Suffolk
- Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire
Did you know – It is reported that The MOD currently owns approximately 1% of the land in the UK.