John Redwood has received a reply from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) about Arborfield Garrison.
In his letter the Secretary of State for Defence, Dr Liam Fox forecasts the closure of the garrison by 2015 and the disposal of the site.
He says the MOD are in negotiation over how much they might contribute to the costs of a new school and other infrastructure. They are also considering whether some of the MOD facilities could form part of a new school.
You can view a copy of the letter here: Ministerial Reply – Arborfield Garrison1.13.04.11.
April 19, 2011
The Labour government sold off hundreds of thousands of married quarters housing in England. These houses were sold off at well below market value, costing the nation some millions of pounds. I know this to be true, because I worked for an Estate Agents, which handled the house sales at Alamein Barracks, in East Yorkshire. The reductions on price were eye watering and an example of the assets thrown away by the Labour government. Taxpayers deserve better treatment of their assets.
By contrast, the same type of property in Scotland, was GIVEN to the Scottish government, for free. Not for them, to contribut towards RBS debts, then.
My query for Cameron would be, “Will they be doing the same with the rest of England’s MOD property, which they are planning to sell?” [selling it all under market value to go towards BRITISH debts?]
April 19, 2011
Hi John,
I won’t even begin to try to decipher what the bulk of the letter means, when it talks about “section 106 agreements” etc, but I really noticed this bit.
“Therefor the Department sees no reason why the proposed timescales should change.”
To my mind that is a very very long way from a cast iron guarantee that the MOD will move out in 2015. Before we give-up the green spaces in and around the Garrison there has to be an incontrovertible cast iron guarantee that the MOD are going to move out at the sate the say. Not a day later. I’d go as far to say they should gift the land over to the development group now, and then rent it back, with payments doubling every month beyond the agreed move out date they delay.
I have many other miss-givings about the proposed development in Arborfield, but the MOD move out date is the most important one IMO.