Shropshire Star

MoD sell-off date for barracks near Market Drayton postponed

Barracks near Market Drayton will now not be sold off until 2025, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

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Clive Barracks at Tern Hill is one of 28 military bases scheduled to be disposed of to raise millions and meet the armed forces' modern needs, but many of the sites' disposal dates have been pushed back several years including two in Telford.

In 2016 it was announced that Clive Barracks, home to the Royal Irish Regiment, would be sold off by 2022 but now it will not be disposed of for a further three years.

Disposal of the Venning Barracks and Parsons Barracks, both part of MOD Donnington in Telford, was delayed to 2022 from 2020.

The MOD announced delays to many of the 33 planned disposals, and revealed that five of the sites would be retained instead.

Market Drayton's mayor Mark Whittle is an ex-soldier who served in five different regiments, and he welcomed the delay.

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He said: "Market Drayton is a military town and it has always been a military town.

"The Royal Irish Regiment have been based at Tern Hill since about 2007, they have had the freedom of the town since 2012.

"There have been marriages in the Royal Irish, people have settled here and their children have gone to the schools here.

Stability

"It gives stability to the town, it means we have people who work in the industries in the town."

He pointed to Ian Nellins, who served as a major in the Royal Irish Regiment and is now a town councillor, as evidence of the "close mix" between the town and the regiment.

The Royal Irish Regiment recently celebrated St Patrick's Day. Picture credit: Corporal Tom Evans / MOD Crown

Councillor Whittle said the delay would help the armed forces prepare for the changes to the town economy and community once the regiment leaves Clive Barracks, and that the soldiers will be missed.

The MOD gave the reason for the delayed disposal date as: "Detailed work to assess the optimum laydown required to support operational capability."

An MOD statement said: "In order to ensure that the defence estate is fit for purpose, a 25-year strategy was published in 2016 to optimise the defence estate and meet future military requirements.

"Following detailed assessment work the outline plan has now been updated, providing clarity and certainty for personnel and communities for the next five years.

"Today’s announcement is accompanied by the confirmation that £1.5 billion will be invested over the next five years to ensure that the estate meets both military objectives and the high standards required to house and support service personnel and their families.

"This is part of the £4 billion committed in 2016 in the Better Defence Estates Programme to improve and upgrade the defence estate."

Future uses

Defence secretary Gavin Williamson said: "By providing further clarity on the future of key sites, not only will we protect our national security and support military objectives, but we will provide more stable employment and education opportunities for military families."

Defence minister Tobias Ellwood said: "When improving the defence estate we have always strived to achieve the right balance between working with local communities, achieving value for money and making sure our Armed Forces have what they require to protect our people and promote our prosperity.

"This update will give our service personnel the certainty to put down permanent roots and fully integrate with the local community."

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is still engaging with local authorities on behalf of the MOD to identify future uses for the vacated sites.

Modern

DIO chief executive Graham Dalton said: "Delivering the Defence Estate Optimisation Programme to create a smaller, more modern and capability-focused estate is a priority for the MOD and DIO.

"We are set to invest £1.5 billion into the defence estate over the next five years to meet military requirements.

"This is an exciting opportunity for defence and we continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders, including devolved administrations both in areas where sites are closing but also towns that will welcome new enhanced garrisons and camps."