Good homes will be placed at the heart of UK military family life as the MOD is set to begin the construction of 265 new military family houses at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, the first such development in almost a decade. Families living in the area will see a range of new, modern apartments, houses and bungalows begin to be built at Carterton near the air base in the coming weeks, once formal approval is received. 

In addition to the building of the houses at Brize Norton, DIO will also be refurbishing another 2,000 homes across the UK in the next 12 months alone, building on the 1,250 worst condition properties already brought up to standard. This work is a step towards  widening access for families who have previously not been able to benefit from a military home, with 1,000 of the refurbished houses being brought back into use for military families. This is almost double the number of previously empty homes that were brought online for families over the previous 12 months. 

Building new homes and refurbishing previously unavailable properties are part of the bricks and mortar-led approach to widening access for Service families set out in the Defence Housing Strategy. In time this will be accompanied by an interim rental allowance, which will accelerate widened access for those military families whose needs cannot be met in a particular location, while capacity on the estate increases.              

Backed by £9 billion of investment over the next decade, the Defence Housing Strategy is delivering the most significant transformation of UK military housing in over 50 years, with more than 40,000 properties to be modernised, refurbished or rebuilt.  

Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said:  

“At a time of greater global uncertainty, when we’re asking more of our Forces and their families, a decent home has never mattered more. Housing is at the heart of all of our lives. And after years of neglect, the new development at Brize Norton demonstrates delivery on our overhaul of military housing. I am determined that British military families will get homes they can be proud of, as we renew our nation’s contract with those who serve.”   

Ministers are determined to deliver at pace as Service personnel and their families continue to make extraordinary sacrifices to keep Britain safe – including working round the clock on the crisis in the Middle East. Better housing is a key part of this Government’s promise to renew the nation’s commitment to those who serve, and a key factor in fixing Armed Forces recruitment and retention.  

Natalie Elphicke-Ross OBE, Chair of the Defence Housing Strategy Review team said: 

 “This exciting new development at Brize Norton shows that the new Defence Housing Strategy is hitting the ground running. A further 2,000 Defence family homes are set to be upgraded and modernised over the coming year. Making sure that military families have a warm, safe, modern, comfortable home is central to our plan for a generational change to military housing.” 

Station Commander Brize Norton, Gp Capt Louise Henton said:  

“It’s really important that we’ve got high-quality houses for our personnel and they know that housing stock is dependable, can be relied on, and they don’t have to worry about their home while they are away on operations”