Armed Forces personnel and their families in Wales will benefit from “the most significant transformation of UK military housing in more than 50 years,” the UK Government says.
A 10-year ‘generational renewal’ of service family homes will see tens of thousands of Armed Forces houses modernised or upgraded, with around 14,000 receiving substantial refurbishment or replacement.
There are 801 Service Family Accommodation properties in Wales, with rapid improvement works already underway at 107 service houses across Mid and West Wales.
Defence Secretary John Healey has also identified a long-term opportunity to build over 100,000 new homes for both civilian and military families on surplus MoD land.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
“Our British forces personnel and our veterans fulfil the ultimate public service. Our nation is rightly proud of them. And the very least they deserve is a decent home.
“This new Strategy will embed a ‘Forces First’ approach that tells our forces, our veterans and their families: we are on your side.
“We can’t fix forces housing overnight, but this effort is already underway and will now accelerate. By creating a specialist Defence Housing Service, backed by record investment in military accommodation, we will deliver better value for the taxpayer and fulfil our promise to provide homes fit for heroes.”
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:
“Wales has a long and proud tradition of military service, and it is right that the housing provided for our service personnel and their families are of the very best standard.
“The Armed Forces make a vital contribution to the Welsh economy as well as to our national security. With this property modernisation programme this UK Government is delivering for our servicepeople and their families.”
The latest government figures highlight that Wales received £1.1 billion in defence spending in the last year alone, directly supporting 3,900 Welsh jobs across a range of sectors. This represents £340 in defence spending per person across Wales.
Rapid improvements to Armed Forces housing are already underway through a Consumer Charter for Forces Families introduced earlier this year, new and upgraded military homes will meet modern property standards comparable to the best professional housing organisations, ensuring they are warm, spacious and of high quality.
As part of the Consumer Charter, the Ministry of Defence made a commitment to urgently upgrade homes most in need of refurbishment. Work to meet this commitment is happening at pace with improvements to 1,000 homes across the UK being completed by the end of this year.
As part of efforts to unlock the wider delivery of 100,000 homes on surplus defence land, the Strategy will put forward plans for a dedicated Defence Development Fund, releasing surplus land for development with proceeds reinvested into future projects.
In the interim, a rental support scheme will allow service personnel to rent privately while homes are made available, the UK Government said.
As part of the Strategy’s recommendations, Armed Forces personnel and veterans will receive priority access to homeownership opportunities when Defence sites are used for housebuilding. The ‘Forces First’ homeownership opportunities will apply to a proportion of new homes on selected surplus defence sites, agreed between MOD, the local authority and the developer based on demand and site viability.
