UK house prices: Ministry of Defence names new sites for thousands of home as it releases land in London, Essex, Kent and Hampshire
The Ministry of Defence is to release enough land to build 7,000 new homes around the country, including parts of London, Hampshire and Kent.
The MoD believes this tranche of land – the "vast majority of which" will be released in time to contribute towards the government's target of 160,000 by 2020 – will generate around £140m, which will be ploughed straight back into defence spending.
The move follows the announcement of 12 sites for disposal in January. In total enough land has been released to build 22,000 homes so far, raising £640m for the state.
It is part of the department’s plan to reduce by 30 per cent the size of its built estate, delivering a more efficient defence estate. The defence estate currently spans one per cent of all UK land – 452,000 hectares in total.
The map below shows where the latest plots are based, spread throughout the country, but with a focus on the south.
The 10 sites released today are Thornhill Barracks (Part of Clayton Barracks, Aldershot), Burgoyne Barracks (Part of Shorncliffe Barracks, Folkestone), Clive Barracks (Tern Hill, Shropshire), Fitz Wygram House – Royal Army Vet Corps (Aldershot), Army Officer Selection Board Westbury (Wiltshire), Defence Training Estate land near Cove (Farnborough), Rylston Road ARC (London), MOD Wethersfield (Essex), Chetwynd Barracks (Chilwell, Nottinghamshire) and MoD Cheadle Hulme (Greater Manchester).
Defence minister Mark Lancaster said: "Every pound we make by disposing of excess land will be reinvested into a defence budget that keeps Britain safe. It will make the defence estate more efficient and better suited to the needs of our armed forces. And it will help thousands of people to own their own home.
The department has committed to generating £1bn through land sales during this parliament and contributing up to 55,000 homes.