Hundreds more military properties are expected to be upgraded by the spring
Military families in Northern Ireland will celebrate Christmas in upgraded homes — said the ministry of defence — as improvements to overhaul over 150 of the worst houses have completed ahead of schedule.
The ambitious programme of works to urgently fix 1,000 military homes across the UK has also now been extended, with a further 250 military properties to receive priority upgrades over the coming months. This is a 25% increase on the target set out by Defence Secretary John Healey when launching the Consumer Charter only eight months ago.
The programme of housing improvements, known as Raising the Minimum Standards, has seen significant works take place at service family homes across the UK, with upgrades made to over 150 properties in Northern Ireland.
Homes across the country have received a complete makeover with new flooring and other improvements such as replacing unreliable boilers and heating systems, repairing hundreds of leaky roofs and the installation of new bathrooms, kitchens, windows and doors.
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The Defence Housing Strategy will see the modernisation, refurbishing or rebuilding of more than 40,000 service family homes and has been enabled by the landmark deal made just 12 months ago to bring 36,000 military homes back into public ownership.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: “Our Armed Forces and their families in Northern Ireland sacrifice so much for our country, the least they deserve are safe and decent homes. The work we’ve done to upgrade the 1,000 worst homes means that more families can now enjoy Christmas together in homes that are fit for heroes.
“This is just the start of our ambitious work to upgrade tens of thousands of homes across the country, made possible by our landmark deal to bring 36,000 homes back into public ownership and backed by £9 billion investment. We are ending the decades of neglect and giving our dedicated Armed Forces families the homes they deserve.”
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said: “We ask so much of our Armed Forces personnel and we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for what they do. This investment in Northern Ireland’s armed forces housing is an important step to ensure the wellbeing of the service personnel and their families, who do so much for us.
David Brewer, Chief Operating Officer for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation added: “I am very proud of the improvements our teams have made to 1,000 of our worst homes. This is just the start of a generational renewal which will see 9 out of 10 homes improved.
“We are already seeing the results of the changes we are making through our charter commitments and are determined to do even more to improve the homes and deliver the experience our armed forces deserve.”
The refurbishment of the 1,000 worst homes was just one the Consumer Charter commitments made by the Secretary of State to improve the experience of service families. The Ministry of Defence stated that these improvements are already being reflected in the results of monthly surveys of Service personnel, which show a clear upward trajectory in overall levels of satisfaction.
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