Thousands of navy properties throughout the UK are to be modernised, refurbished or rebuilt over the subsequent decade beneath a £9 billion authorities plan to enhance protection housing.
Almost all 47,700 properties for navy households might be revamped within the Ministry of Defence's new housing technique in what Defense Secretary John Healey mentioned might be “the largest renovation of armed forces housing in more than 50 years”.
The scheme is in response to persistent complaints from serving personnel about their housing situations.
Dozens of members and their households in 2022 informed the BBC They needed to dwell in damp, fungus-infested housing with out heating.
a commons protection committee received final yr Two-thirds of the homes for service households required “extensive renovation or reconstruction” to satisfy trendy requirements.
Under the brand new technique, service household lodging (SFA) might be refurbished with new kitchens, bogs and heating methods.
About 14,000 will both obtain a “substantial refurbishment” or be fully changed.
The plans are a part of the federal government's wider protection housing technique, which might be revealed on Monday. A complete of £4 billion had already been introduced to sort out the housing disaster.
The authorities says it has additionally recognized extra MoD land that can be utilized to construct 100,000 new properties for civilian and navy households.
Healy mentioned: “This is a new chapter – a decisive break from decades of underinvestment, with a building program to support Britain's military families and boost economic growth across the country.”
Almost three years in the past, the BBC was contacted by households dwelling in navy lodging in Sandhurst who had been with out heating for a number of days.
“We are at breaking point and something has to change. The system is broken,” he mentioned on the time.
In response to the story, the Defense Ministry mentioned it was working with its contractors to enhance service. But a report launched in December final yr discovered these issues “still exist”.
“It is shocking that, until the policy change in 2022, it was considered acceptable to house families in properties with damp and mould,” the report mentioned.
The Ministry of Defense introduced final yr it will purchase 36,347 navy properties from property firm Annington Homes for about £6 billion, reversing a privatization deal struck beneath the Conservative authorities in 1996.
The Defense Ministry mentioned the deal would save tens of millions in hire and upkeep prices, with the cash getting used to refurbish navy housing.
With inputs from BBC