Deal struck over military homes in Preston, Ribble Valley, Lancaster and South Ribble that will save UK billions

In total, 505 military homes across the North West are part of the deal, with 53 in Preston, four in South Ribble, 15 in the Ribble Valley and seven in Lancaster. Labour say the deal will save billions of pounds over the next decade, delivering savings for taxpayers and enabling additional investment into homes for military families.

Damp, mould and leaks

The landmark move reverses a sale undertaken by the Government in 1996, which meant billions of pounds has been spent renting back military homes that Labour say shouldn’t have been sold in the first place. The party says that across the country, thousands of forces’ families are living with damp, mold and leaks after more than a decade of underinvestment in maintenance and repairs of these ageing homes.

In the North West, the Labour government is going to buy back 505 homes from the private landlord that currently owns them. Taking back control of the military housing estate will save the taxpayer £230 million a year in rent - £600,000 per day.

“Homes fit for our heroes”

Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence said: “This deal shows our government is determined to deliver homes fit for our heroes. These important savings to the defence budget will help fix the deep-set problems we inherited. That money could have been spent on making forces’ housing fit for the future. Our Labour government has taken decisive action to reverse that deal, bringing military housing back into public hands and unlocking investment for the future. There is still a lot of work to do to deliver the homes our military families deserve, and these problems will not be fixed overnight. But this is a decisive break with the failed approach of the past and a major step forward on that journey.”

“Shames our nation”

Paul Foster MP for South Ribble said: “It shames our nation that in the lead up to Christmas, too many military families are living in sub-standard military housing. For the families of those who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our country safe, that is unacceptable. But change is coming. “Our Government will deliver homes fit for heroes in the North West.”

The Labour Party has not revealed how much it will be paying for the homes, but they say the estimated overall budgetary impact of the agreement over the next 10 years – if no deal had been agreed – would be around £5.9 billion in interest payments and capital charges, as well as additional properties currently valued at around £1.3 billion being handed back to Annington. Is it said that taxpayers wouldhave been £8 billion worse off as a result of the deal.