WORK has begun at a Bulford Barracks to make way for the construction of service accommodation in preparation for resettling troops from Germany under the Army Basing Programme (ABP).

A total of 36 redundant service family houses are being demolished at Ward Barracks as part of a project to create new accommodation and facilities across Salisbury Plain following £1.1billion of investment nationally by the Ministry of Defence, announced by defence secretary Michael Fallon in November.

Sites across Salisbury Plain and in Aldershot are set to see 2,600 bed spaces created in modern single living accommodation with improved office, catering, retail and leisure facilities.

The demolition at Ward Barracks is one of 150 demolitions across garrisons under Project Allenby/Connaught(PAC), a fouryear construction programme under a contract with Aspire Defence on behalf of Defence Infrastructure Organisation which will deliver 129 new buildings alongside alterations, refurbishments and extensions.

The site of the demolition will be converted into an area of green space with parking spaces.

The new infrastructure will support forces returning from Germany under the Army Basing Programme (ABP) which was set up to deliver Army 2020 as part of the Government’s 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) commitments.

The construction programme is scheduled for completion by 2020, meaning all British Army units based in Germany can return to the UK by then, resulting in savings of up to £240 million per year by 2022/23.

Outside this contract, the MOD is planning to build 917 new service family homes at three sites (444 at Larkhill, 246 at Ludgershall and 227 at Bulford) and purchase a further 100 homes from a commercial development in Tidworth.

In addition to this the ABP is building 322 homes on MOD land in Tidworth Mark Duddy, ABP Programme Director said: “I am really impressed with the speed of delivery and the amount of progress that has been made since the announcement in November; we remain firmly on track to deliver the required infrastructure to enable the units to return from Germany in 2019.

"This project is an excellent example of how we are updating the estate by removing unsuitable accommodation and providing first class living and working facilities for our service personnel.”

Allan Thomson, Chief Executive of Aspire Defence Ltd added: “The construction and demolition works being completed by Aspire Defence for the Army Basing Programme will vastly improve the MOD estate across Salisbury Plain.

"By replacing out-dated buildings with usable space, and building new single living and working accommodation for soldiers, we are delivering the infrastructure required to support the Army’s operational success, both today and for the future.”