A total of 10 new Joint Cadet Centres are being delivered in Wales as part of the national effort to modernise the reserve and cadet estate.
The new centres ranging from Caldicot in the south to Bangor in the north are RFCA for Wales’ contribution towards the government’s drive to improve the cadet and reserve estate across the UK.
Under the Secretary of State directed Reserve Estates Optimisation Programme or REOP, a number of sites across Wales were identified as offering potential for development as improved, shared Joint Cadet Centres.
The programme followed a national review of the reserve and cadet estate which took place in 2020 and examined in detail the reach, condition and suitability of every cadet and reserve building in the UK, as well as their value for money.
Although the initiative is led by the Ministry of Defence, the Council of RFCAs, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as well as regional RFCAs have been closely involved with a total of just over £5m being invested across 10 sites in Wales.
These new Joint Cadet Centres are either refurbished sites such as in Blackwood, or brand new modular builds such as in Caldicot.
Across the UK REOP has delivered 59 out of 88 planned projects focused primarily on the cadet estate. Once complete the total amount invested will be c. £45m.
RFCA for Wales Head of Estates, Mr Phil Young, said:
“We are adapting and improving our estate to ensure we have the right buildings in the right locations to meet the needs of the cadets in the future.”
One of the latest developments has seen the creation of a new Joint Cadet Centre in Penarth where two existing air cadet buildings were extended and reconfigured to create one building, with the local army cadets also making use of the new shared accommodation.
The programme in Wales has meant that 12 cadet and reserve sites have been or are in the process of being disposed of, contributing to a more efficient estate in Wales.
Five new Joint Cadet Centres have already been created at Blaina, Blackwood, Caldicot, Penarth and Pengam-Cascade.
A further five new Joint Cadet Centres are to be created at Tredegar, Bangor, Bridgend, Ammanford and Ebbw Vale.
In Caldicot, the old Army Cadet Force building in Mill Lane was razed to the ground to make way for a brand new £1.2m bespoke building which opened its doors last summer and is shared by both the army cadets and the air cadets in the town.
Staff Sergeant Instructor Kerris Drew of Caldicot ACF said:
“This new state-of-art building is great – it’s so much bigger than the old one with better facilities. It has more classrooms which allow us to carry out more efficient and targeted training with the cadets. It has a spacious stores room, offices and even air conditioning. Outside there is a parade area for drill practice and also a garden area with wildlife boxes.”
The building offers scope for collaborative training between the army and air cadets.
