Larkhill soldier becomes first to move into newly refurbished army homes
They've got the keys to the property just in time for Christmas
Last updated 23rd Dec 2020
An army family from Larkhill have become the first of around 3,500 to move into a newly refurbished military home.
Corporal Stewart Angus of 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment along with his wife Sarah and children Paige, Bradley and Oscar have benefitted from government funding.
It was announced by the Secretary of State for Defence in July that £200m would be allocated to improve military accommodation.
Of this, £122m is being spent on upgrading 3,500 service homes throughout the UK.
The work was carried out by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and contractors Amey.
Air Cdre James Savage, DIO's Head of Accommodation, said:
"It's great to see Cpl Angus and his wife and children become the first of many military families across the country to benefit from improvements to Service Family Accommodation. This funding allows us to target some of the homes most in need of improvement and really make a difference to the home lives of thousands of servicemen and women and their families.
It's a condition of the funding that it must be spent within 18 months, so my team and our industry partners, Amey, have had to work very quickly to identify where the money can be best spent and then to put our plans into action.
Cpl Angus' new home is the first of many and I hope he and his family are very happy there."
The Angus family are now living in a home which has been completely refitted with a new kitchen, bathroom, downstairs toilet, heating pipework and radiators, boiler, electrical wiring and fittings and flooring.
Around 800 homes which have been empty for a long time are being targeted first to reduce disruption to families.
Cpl Angus said:
"Moving house is always stressful, especially with three children, but it certainly helps to be moving to somewhere that I know is practically a new house in many ways. We're really pleased to be moving to a property with all of these new and upgraded features, particularly just in time for Christmas!"
The DIO say the investment work will also provide work to dozens of small companies in the region, expected to sustain around 2,000 jobs in the constructor sector.
WATCH:
The DIO have made a video of Corporal Angus' move into the house.