A thousand properties have been brought back into use for Armed Forces families across the UK thanks to the Defence infrastructure Organisation and its contractors VIVO Defence Services and Amey.
The programme of extensive refurbishments to long-term ‘void’ houses launched in September 23’ and has been funded by a slice of the £400m additional investment by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) into military homes. The programme of works will significantly increase the number of high-quality homes available to service families.
The houses that have benefited from the refurbishments were previously deemed uninhabitable, primarily due to their age and condition.
VIVO has completed 667 of the properties, including 142 in Tidworth, Wiltshire; 134 properties in Aldershot, Hampshire, 48 in Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. They have all now undergone the extensive work needed to bring them back to the required standard. Works varied from new kitchens and bathrooms to new boilers carpets and curtains. A number of properties have had a full refurbishment, including rewiring, new heating, new doors and windows, internal redecoration work and external work to outside spaces. All completed houses are now warm, comfortable, safe, more energy efficient and most importantly, available to military personnel and their families.
In addition to the refurbishment of the void houses, DIO is also carrying out work to more than 4,000 properties to improve their thermal efficiency with the help of VIVO and Amey. New doors, windows, roofs, and external wall insulation will act to prevent issues with damp and mould and reduce the overall cost of living for service families.
Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge, said "Improving accommodation for our service personnel and their families is a top priority – that’s why we are investing an additional £400 million into maintaining and upgrading homes.
"I am grateful for the collaborative work between the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and contractors to ensure as many of our people as possible have access to high-quality homes, which will include damp and mould improvements to around 5,000 properties."
One beneficiary of the void refurbishment programme has been Corporal Tom Amponsah-Dadzie. Corporal Amponsah-Dadzie who serves with the Royal Logistics Corps has recently moved, with his wife and children, into one of the newly available properties in Aldershot, Hampshire; he said:
“This new place is one of the best places I have ever lived in. I can’t express the reaction on the face of my wife when she saw the house for the first time. She couldn’t stop talking about it, she took so many pictures of everywhere. But not only her, my Army friends when they come to visit always ask if this is a military house. They keep thinking it’s a newly purchased home.
“On a personal level, living in a house like this brings excitement and peace to my life. Coming home makes me happy. The house allows me to sleep well at night and gives me peace of mind in the day”.
Phil Riley, Director of Accommodation at the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, said: “Improving the standard of Service Family Accommodation is my top priority, I’m delighted to see the tremendous work that has been done to ensure high-quality homes have been made available to our service families.
“These high-standard refurbishments, along with the steps taken to improve ventilation and thermal efficiency are making Service family homes more energy efficient and resilient to issues such as damp and mould. DIO will continue to work closely and collaboratively with our contractors to build on the progress made.”
Jerry Moloney, our Managing Director at VIVO Defence Services, added: “We at VIVO are very proud of the part we have played bringing such a quantity of previously uninhabitable homes back into use.
“Our teams have worked at exceptional pace since last summer transforming these unused properties into high-quality, energy efficient homes, ready for service personnel and their families to move into.”