Defence Online

DIO future plans for UK military bases

Homeland September 30, 2019

In his recent spending review, Sajid Javid announced an extra £2.2billion for defence as part of general spending increases. In 2018, around 5,900 MOD jobs were in construction and many more were in shipbuilding and other manufacturing. Defence Online takes a look at how DIO plans for UK military bases fits in to this strategy.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation is one of the biggest landowners in the UK, as well as owning 4,000 sites worldwide and 424,000 hectares of land. Around 5,000 employees work in housing for the armed forces, and DIO manages 45,000 service family homes, 16 major training grounds and 104 minor training grounds. An investment of £4billion into defence estate was planned over 10 years between 2016-2026. Over the same time period, DIO has planned to save £140million in running costs, rising to £3billion by 2040. One major issue facing DIO is ageing estates, over 40% of built assets are over 40 years old. They plan to dispose of 91 of their most expensive sites by 2040. DIO owns around 1.8% of UK landmass, costing around £2.5billion a year in maintenance costs.

One DIO base currently undergoing major construction work is RAF Lakenheath. The base will be the first home of US air force F-35 fighter jets. The Government announced a £160million investment last year for a storage facility, maintenance unit, flight simulator, and new hangars. The ground was broken on the site earlier this year and construction is due to be completed in 2021. It is expected that the new facilities will accommodate 700 new members of staff.

The new facilities are being designed to include disabled access and renovations to existing buildings. Kier VolkerFitzpatrick won the contract for construction, having previously worked at MOD Lyneham and RAF Shawbury. The base will be the first home in Europe for F-35 jets in Europe. The two squadrons of F-35A Lightning II fighter jets will arrive in 2021, and work is currently being completed on schedule. The construction supply chain is designed to create local employment and involve local SMEs where possible. RAF Lossiemouth is also undergoing work to prepare for the arrival of the P-8A Poseidon, with the first expected to arrive towards the end of 2019. The anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft is currently being worked on by Boeing in Jacksonville, Florida.

The construction at Lossiemouth includes runway resurfacing and a new hangar facility measuring 19 metres high. 100 metres wide and 165 metres long. Kier Volkerfitzpatrick won the £75million contract for the runway and Boeing is building the hangar, which will also feature planning space, office facilities, and maintenance space.

Work is also being done at Lympstone in Devon, Catterick, RAF Northolt, and Nescliff. Most of these projects are creating new training and accommodation facilities. At Nescliff, DIO is investing £4million into the building of new kitchen and dining facilities. The contract was won by local contractor Pave Aways Ltd. and DIO partner Landmarc Support Services Ltd.

The facilities will be capable of feeding 600 personnel at a time and feature welfare and storage facilities. Like most current projects, the Nescliff construction will be improving disability access on the site. This will include updating current disabled facilities and improving accessibility into existing buildings, accommodating the needs of injured and disabled personnel. Accommodation for Royal Marines at Lympstone will create space for personnel who have been injured or are undergoing remedial military training.

The £10million contract was awarded to Galliford Try and AECOM and will see the creation of a 181-bed block by August 2020. At Catterick, new training facilities will recreate an urban environment, with new buildings created from reconfigurable purpose-built containers. The construction work is being undertaken by Landmarc Support Services and BeaverFit Ltd.

The training grounds have recreated multi-story buildings with multiple points of access to imitate a crowded urban environment. At RAF Northolt, Langan Aviation and Infrastructure won the £23million contract to resurface the runway. The contract included upgrading the existing runway, installing new arrestor beds to improve safety, improving aeronautical ground lighting (AGL) systems, and drainage. During the construction work, aircraft have been using RAF Benson and civilian airports.

Much of the property on defence estates is over 40 years old. DIO also owns many historic buildings and oversees a number of archaeological digs. Every listed building owned by DIO has a maintenance and inspection plan in place to ensure its longevity. Listed buildings are inspected every four years and the MOD works with heritage organisations including Historic Scotland, Cadw, and English Heritage. DIO also sells off land it no longer uses for other projects. Developers in Kent are creating new housing on the former site of the 18th century Kitchener Barracks in Medway.

The site is part of Medway’s City of Culture bid for 2025, showcasing what they have to offer. The listed parade ground and outer walls will remain a part of the site. Maintenance takes up a large party of the DIO budget. Projects such as the resurfacing of runways ensure a longer lifespan for assets. DIO has a target to increase its use of SMEs. The target currently stands to hand over 25% of procurement to SMEs by 2020. They have also increased their commitment to providing apprenticeships. This is part of the Government’s plan to create 20,000 new apprenticeships in construction procurement. The overall strategic objectives are:

• Deliver Safe, Secure, and Compliant Estate
• Provide Insight and Expertise
• Enable the Estate Defence Needs
• Operate Efficiently
• Build Talent and Capability
• Transform the Organisation.

In the 2018-2019 procurement plan, DIO outlines key guidelines for building and the supply chain. Through a ten-year investment plan, DIO hopes to:

• Release unused land to support government housing targets
• Reduce MOD build estate by 30%
• Achieve £1billion of capital disposal receipts over the next two years and £1.9billion over ten years.

A well as disposal and reduction, DIO hopes to increase investment in infrastructure where it is needed. This includes 1,500 new homes for personnel and their families and thousands of new beds for single living accommodation. This investment will also go into improving existing accommodation infrastructure and working, training, and technical infrastructure.

As well as nationwide improvements, investment is being directed to specific areas. In Clyde, £1.3billion is planned to fund projects over the next decade, including 18 new projects in Faslane and Coulport. The projects range from new accommodation to security complex refurbishment, training facilities, and nuclear infrastructure. In the plan, DIO has also released information on future roles and contracts available on MOD estates.

There are contracts available for hospital work at RAF Lakenheath, a Physical and Recreation Centre at RAF Conningsby, and refurbishment of operating services at RAF Leeming, RAF Wittering, and RAF Shawbury. The DIO plan for the next few years details other contracts including Soft Facilities Management, Hard Facilities Management, and Technical and Specialist Services. The strategy also details planned changes to how DIO manages the supply chain. This includes more time spent engaging with suppliers before going to market and improving contract management. DIO is aiming for increased efficiency using existing frameworks and hopes to develop new ones to meet their needs on future plans.

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construction DIO F-35 Kier VolkerFitzpatrick Land P-8A Poseidon supply chain

Post written by: Vicky Maggiani

Vicky has worked in media for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.