A soldier and his family have been welcomed into their newly refurbished home at Larkhill, following additional Government funding to improve Service accommodation across the UK’s Defence Estate.
3,500 military family homes will benefit from £122 million of fiscal stimulus funding and teams from Amey and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) are working closely with single Services and Chain of Command to identify properties requiring an upgrade, with a focus on improving the lived experience of families, balanced with a value for money approach.
We know that lighter and brighter homes are good for you; improving your mood, energy and wellbeing and we’re delighted that Corporal Stewart Angus of 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment, his wife Sarah and children Paige, aged 11, Bradley, aged four, and three-year-old Oscar will benefit from the upgrades carried out on their home.
Working within the structure of the existing property, Amey and supply chain partners, Robert Rice, have transformed it from a tired, void (empty) property into a bright, warm and energy efficient home which the family will want to spend time in.
The property, which had been standing empty for some time, has been given a new lease of life. We’ve installed a new kitchen, bathroom, downstairs toilet, heating pipework and radiators, energy efficient boilers, electrical wiring and fittings, and flooring. Dated Artex ceilings have been plastered and new carpet and curtains added. Externally, we’ve replaced the roof and added loft and external wall insulation, installed new fencing and added outside lights. New windows and doors can be securely locked and will increase thermal efficiency, reduce utility bills and ensure the home is a warm and safe place to be.
Cpl Angus said: “Moving house is always stressful, especially with three children, but it certainly helps to be moving to somewhere that I know is practically a new house in many ways. We’re really pleased to be moving to a property with all of these new and upgraded features.”
Improving the lived experience of Service families
We take great pride in helping to provide Service families with better and brighter places to live and remain fully focused on creating an environmentally friendly estate where Service personnel and their families will reap the benefits for many years to come.
Over the next 18 months, 3,500 Service homes will be refurbished with some properties receiving a full upgrade like Cpl Angus’ family home, while others will see smaller but still significant improvements, with a minimum investment of £25,000 per property. A number of play parks will also be refurbished providing local children with a safe and stimulating place to let off steam.
Air Cdre James Savage, DIO’s Head of Accommodation, welcomed the family to their new home and said: “It’s great to see Cpl Angus and his wife and children become the first of many military families across the country to benefit from improvements to Service Family Accommodation. This funding allows us to target some of the homes most in need of improvement and really make a difference to the home lives of thousands of servicemen and women and their families.”
Tim Redfern, Amey’s Managing Director Defence added: “Amey and DIO have a shared vision of providing the military community with secure, warm and energy-efficient homes, and this huge boost in Government funding will enable us to further support the MOD in their commitment to improve the quality of Armed Forces living accommodation. Additionally, it allows our supply chain partners to preserve the resilience of their own business during the pandemic and provide a much-needed boost to their local community. We’re delighted that Corporal Angus and his family are pleased with the upgrades to his property and we look forward to welcoming many more families into their newly-refurbished homes.”
This investment programme will provide work to dozens of companies, many of which will be small and medium enterprises local to the area. It is expected to sustain around 2,000 jobs in the construction sector.