Army Basing Plan

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office – in the House of Commons at 1:58 pm on 5 March 2013.

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Photo of Philip Hammond Philip Hammond The Secretary of State for Defence 1:58, 5 March 2013

The hon. Gentleman is right that there is some vacant accommodation at Thiepval, and the Army looked very carefully at the possibility of further location at Lisburn. However, the equation is complex. It is about not only utilising existing estate but the operational cost of having troops on that estate—the cost of getting them to the training areas where they need to operate. Overall, the value for money case points to the solution I have set out, even though that means that some vacant accommodation will remain at Thiepval.