Work starts on new sustainable homes for soldiers in Wiltshire
Defence Estates (DE) awarded the £46 million contract to Bovis Lend Lease, who will design and build the houses for soldiers stationed at Tidworth…
Defence Estates (DE) awarded the £46 million contract to Bovis Lend Lease, who will design and build the houses for soldiers stationed at Tidworth and Bulford Garrison.
Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, the Hon Andrew Robathan MP marked the occasion on Thursday 9 November 2010 with an inauguration ceremony attended by representatives from DE, Headquarters Land Forces, 43 Wessex Brigade, and Bovis Lend Lease.
The homes will be designed around a boulevard and village green to provide social spaces that create a close-knit community, with speed restricting road design and safe play areas for a better quality of life.
Speaking about the project, Mr Robathan commented:
I was determined to push this project through despite the current financial pressures.
“We owe our Service personnel and their families the best possible support, and that includes providing them with good quality accommodation that is fit for the 21st century.
These family homes will complement the excellent quality accommodation for single soldiers which is being delivered at Bulford.
The homes will be delivered to the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. They are due for completion in December 2012, with the first 60 homes handed over by late August 2011.
Brigadier Mark Armstrong, Director of Infrastructure Land Forces said:
The Canadian Estate project is a good news story for the Army. We are aiming to further develop our Defence Communities, where service personnel and their families can live and work in modern and comfortable facilities.
“In the Tidworth and Bulford Garrison there is a pressing need for some Service Families Accommodation and this project will deliver a first class solution for our people.”
This is the first of three projects to provide new service families accommodation on Salisbury Plain and it is expected the quality of these new houses will provide the benchmark for the other developments.
DE Project Manager Phil Eley, said:
Defence Estates’ first priority is to support our Armed Forces and their families. DE are working with Bovis Lend Lease to tackle the challenge of a tight programme that will set the benchmark for the future housing projects planned for the Salisbury Plain area and deliver modern energy efficient homes for soldiers and their families.
And Head of Bovis Lend Lease Defence Geoff Minshell added:
This is a very significant project for Bovis Lend Lease and Defence Estates and our aim is to create better homes for Service personnel and their families. We recognise that good, quality design supports the success of a community and we have endeavoured to create affordable, sustainable neighbourhoods, where families want to live rather than have to live.