New partnership unlocks land for development

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.