A new partnership
has been announced by Homes England and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation
to develop land being released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The partnership
brings together the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), combining its
own in-house expertise with the skills, people and finance of Homes England to
help unlock the constraints, create greater certainty and speed up the
construction of homes.
Nick Walkley, Chief
Executive from Homes England and Graham Dalton, Chief Executive of the Defence
Infrastructure Organisation have sealed the partnership by signing a Memorandum
of Understanding.
Nick Walkley, Chief
Executive of Homes England said: “This partnership provides another great
opportunity to intervene in the market – and the sites will contribute towards
the 300,000 homes needed each year to meet the growing demand. We are pleased
to be using our skills and resource to work closely with DIO on the delivery of
these brownfield sites.
“Through the
Memorandum of Understanding we will be able to work with local authorities and
communities to progress schemes faster and more efficiently providing homes
where they are needed.”
The land will remain
in the ownership of MoD throughout the project whilst Homes England prepares
the site for development through planning and investment with governance from
DIO.
Graham Dalton, Chief
Executive of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation said: “DIO and Homes
England have agreed to work together to develop sites for housing in an
arrangement that will maximise value for the public purse.
“We are pleased to
be entering into this partnership with Homes England for the benefit of local
communities. The combined expertise will ensure sites no longer needed for
Defence can be developed into much needed housing while delivering value for
money.”
The first seven
sites under the new partnering agreement have also been announced today. These
are: Claro & Deverell Barracks in Ripon, North Yorkshire; RAF Henlow in
Bedfordshire; MOD Site 4 in Stafford, MDPGA Wethersfield in Braintree, Essex,
Swynnerton Training Camp in Stone, Staffordshire, Prince William of Gloucester
Barracks in Grantham, Lincolnshire and Chetwynd Barracks in Chilwell,
Nottinghamshire.
