Work Starts on New Sustainable Homes
Defence Minister Andrew Robathan at the Bulford Canadian Estate turf-cutting ceremony. Photo: Crown Copyright 2010.
Work has started on a project to provide 260 new high quality, sustainable homes for soldiers and their families on the Canadian Estate at Bulford, near Salisbury.
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 said: “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.”
How some of the new homes at Bulford are expected to look Photo: Crown Copyright 2010.
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 added: “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.”