Construction of 412 Wiltshire homes at former army site set to begin

Construction is set to begin on a £100m housing scheme on a former army medical equipment site in Wiltshire that will provide more than 400 new homes.

Wiltshire Council has given housebuilder Lovell the go-ahead to begin developing 412 homes on the brownfield site in Ludgershall, around 16 miles northeast of Salisbury.

The project at Drummond Park, once where the Defence Medical Equipment Depot was situated, will include 309 two-to-four bedroom open-market homes.

A quarter of the development (103) will be affordable homes, of which 40% will be shared ownership and 60% affordable rent, for social housing provider Stonewater.

Lovell, which was appointed development partner for the project by Homes England in March 2020, said that contracts had now been completed and building work would get under way this month.

The first open-market homes will be available for sale in January 2022, with the development scheduled for completion in early 2027.As part of the planning agreement for the new homes, Lovell is set to contribute £4.3m towards local community services and facilities.

The funds will go towards the construction of a new primary school at Perham Down, the expansion of Wellington Academy, local bus services, highways, and recycling facilities.Drummond Park will also feature community parkland to the north of the site, including a wildflower meadow, walkway and seating areas. A new roundabout on the A342 will also be built to provide a new entrance to the site.

James Duffett, regional managing director at Lovell, said: “We are delighted to be working with Homes England and Stonewater to deliver this well-anticipated development, where we will be providing a variety of excellent quality new homes for house-hunters on all stages of the property ladder.

“As well as delivering significant investments to the local community, this scheme will allow us to create jobs and training opportunities and produce a place which people can feel proud to call their home.”

Lydia Meeson, senior planning and enabling manager at Homes England, said: “As partners we’ve worked collaboratively to ensure that the investment into the site is translated into a deliverable commitment to high quality homes for a variety of people and I look forward to seeing the development fill with life in the years to come.”

Matt Crucefix, director of development for the South and the West at Stonewater, said the homes would also benefit from sustainability features including air source heat pumps.

“Drummond Park is our first development working in partnership with Lovell and we’re excited for work to get underway in the coming months," he added.

Lovell, a subsidiary of the Morgan Sindall Group, previously converted a nearby derelict army base, the Corunna Barracks on Salisbury Plain, into around 250 homes for military personnel.

Elsewhere in the county, plans for 187 new homes at Hilperton near Trowridge have been approved, subject to local community contributions from housebuilder Barratt Homes being finalised.