Summary of research showing how the release of former military land could create benefits for local residents as well as ex-service personnel.

1. FORCES FOR GOOD
local benefits from surplus military land
research by Julian Dobson for the Bill Sargent Trust

2. THE BIG ISSUE
An unprecedented amount of military land will be sold
between now and 2020. If it is done well, there could be huge
long term benefits for ex-service personnel and local
communities. If it is done badly, years of blight and extra
public expense are likely.

3. Former RAF Binbrook, Brookenby
picture by Fen Kipley, Community Lincs

4. THREE BIG
PRESSURES
The scale of defence cuts: Minimum of 17,000 armed
forces and 25,000 civilian job losses.
The scale of military landholdings: MOD owns 1% of
UK land. Restructuring will make much of it surplus to
requirements.
Pressures on the Ministry of Defence: MOD is
expected to use land sales to generate income to balance its
budget - generating £3.4bn from 1998-2008. This
incentivises short-term thinking.

5. WHEN IT
ALL GOES
WRONG
Rowner estate, Gosport:
£145m regeneration scheme
required after piecemeal land
sales in 1980s and 1990s

6. WHEN IT
ALL GOES
WRONG
RAF bases, Lincolnshire:
Cost of additional public
services for rural communities
estimated at £20m+
(data & picture from Fen Kipley, Community Lincs)

7. WHEN WE
GET IT
RIGHT
Caterham Barracks, Surrey:
Affordable homes and
community facilities owned by
a resident-controlled trust

8. WHEN WE
GET IT
RIGHT
Aldershot Urban Extension:
Long term partnership between
Rushmoor Council and Defence
Infrastructure Organisation to
create shared value
Initial thoughts for Wellesley, Aldershot by Grainger plc

9. WHO IS AFFECTED?
Local residents: In many areas there are strong social and
economic ties between the military and local communities.
Public service providers: Vacant or poorly redeveloped
sites have implications for health, transport, education,
housing and social services.
Ex-forces personnel: Many ex-service people have strong
ties with their base locality. The reuse of surplus sites could
provide them with homes or employment.

10. WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
Poor decision-making: Many local authorities are not
aware of which sites may come up for disposal and have no
strategy for their reuse.
Lack of coordination: Liaison between MOD, Homes and
Communities Agency, local authorities and residents is
patchy. Government departments work at cross-purposes.
Rushed land sales: The drive for a quick capital receipt
can lead to sales to absentee landlords or developers that
lack capacity to deliver.

11. WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
(2)
Long term blight: Poorly handled disposals lead to a
spiral of neglect.
Disrupted communities: Loss of employment and sales
of housing to absentee landlords lead to economic and social
decline.
Public expense: It can be costly and time consuming to
regenerate former military sites sold in poor condition, and
to address economic and social disruption.

12. ‘My husband once said it’s easier to do
a tour of Afghanistan than to live here.’
Resident, former MOD community, Lincolnshire
(from research by Fen Kipley, Community Lincs)

13. Royal Hospital Haslar, Gosport

14. WHAT ARE THE
OPPORTUNITIES?
A future for ex-service personnel: Sites can be reused
to provide homes and job opportunities where people have
local connections.
Local economic development: New employment uses
can compensate for former military employment: Brooklyn
Navy Yard in New York hosts 275 businesses and has
generated 6,000 jobs.
Affordable housing: Former military sites can meet local
housing need, as at Chatham Dockyard.

15. WHAT ARE THE
OPPORTUNITIES? (2)
Community assets: Redevelopment can create
opportunities for community ownership, as at Caterham
Barracks.
Preservation of heritage: Restoration of heritage
buildings can create economic opportunities, as at
Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust.
New open spaces: Rainham Marshes was sold to the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds as a wildlife site.

16. ‘It’s not just about what you can give
away when something’s disposed of,
it’s about sharing assets you’ve both
got and bringing them together.’
Participant in Bill Sargent Trust policy round table

17. Rowner estate, Gosport

18. A FRAMEWORK FOR
THE FUTURE
The key partners: Local authorities, Defence
Infrastructure Organisation, Homes & Communities Agency,
housing providers, community trusts, local residents.
A common bond: The Armed Forces Covenant used as a
way of facilitating discussion and planning about how best
to reuse sites.
Shared value: Wider economic and social value put at the
heart of the disposals process; end target-driven land
disposals.

19. FOUR CALLS TO
ACTION
Take a long term approach: Value assets according to
long term use and public benefit, not just immediate cash
receipts.
Co-operate: Create incentives for departments to
cooperate in the wider public interest.
Share good practice: Spread information about what
works well and build networks of interested communities.
Learn: Consider international experience and lessons from
previous disposals.

20. FOUR PRINCIPLES FOR
SUCCESS
Maximise public benefit from assets acquired with
public funds.
Interpret value broadly, building on recent Treasury
Green Book guidance.
Localism: ‘Nothing about us without us’ should be a
guiding principle.
Long term visions to envisage how surplus military assets
can enhance local communities.

21. ‘The full value of goods such as health,
educational success, family and
community stability, and
environmental assets cannot simply be
inferred from market prices.’
HM Treasury Green Book, Annex 2

22. FIND OUT MORE
www.bstrust.org.uk
www.urbanpollinators.co.uk