Investment in new carbon efficient accommodation marks start of nationwide improvements on the Defence Training Estate. Soldiers using Salisbury Plain and Nesscliff Training Areas are the first to benefit from new carbon efficient accommodation, delivered as part of the £45million net carbon accommodation programme (NetCAP).
The programme is being part-funded using money from a £200million investment to improve Armed Forces accommodation, which was announced by the Defence Secretary last summer. The MoD is investing more than £35million of this funding, in addition to funding from the British Army, into its nationwide programme, which aims to improve facilities for troops when they are training away from their permanent barracks. 38 new carbon efficient accommodation blocks, providing more than 1,700 bed spaces, will be installed across the UK Defence Training Estate by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), working with industry partner Landmarc Support Services and its contractor Reds10. The remainder of the £200million investment is being spent on Service Family Accommodation and training accommodation at Longmoor Training Camp, and improvements to Single Living Accommodation in Army barracks, RAF bases and Naval establishments.
Brigadier Jonathan Bartholomew, DIO's Head of the Overseas and Training Region said: "DIO supports our Armed Forces by providing what they need to live, work and train. Working closely with our industry partner, Landmarc, and Reds10 we are proud to have delivered the first new accommodation blocks on time and during the current climate. These new buildings are modern, flexible and efficient and will support troops on exercise, providing them with the high-quality accommodation that they expect and deserve."
Mark Neill, Managing Director at Landmarc, said: "The welfare of the troops that use the estate is our top priority and the accommodation facilities are a key contributor in delivering the best possible training experience. We are therefore delighted to work with DIO and Reds10 to deliver a programme that will not only support the government's commitment to improving living accommodation for our Armed Forces but will also provide a highly energy efficient solution that will help DIO meet its long-term carbon reduction commitments."
All accommodation is being designed and constructed offsite by modular building specialists Reds10 before being transported to site for assembly and installation. Paul Ruddick, CEO of Reds10 said: "Our brief was to deliver the lowest carbon usage possible. Air source heat pumps, which take supplementary electrical power from solar PV panels installed on the roof, generate the accommodation's complete heating and hot water requirements.
"We installed SMART technology in the building at Westdown Camp, which provides detailed information on how that building is being used, its hot water and heating demand and occupancy rates. This has enabled the team to monitor the energy demands of the building and feedback directly into subsequent building design and specifications, allowing us to deliver the buildings at Nesscliff as the first net zero buildings of the programme. We are proud to be able to continually push our modular construction methods to deliver these sorts of results throughout the programme." The programme will continue into 2021 and early 2022 with the installation of more carbon efficient accommodation blocks on other training sites, some of which will be larger.
