§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current acreage of his Department's land holding; and what plans he has to reduce it. [74817]
§ Mr. SpellarThe total acreage of land that is held by the Ministry of Defence (both freehold and leasehold) stands at almost 593,000 acres (240,000 hectares). My Department recognises its responsibility to use and manage its estate effectively and our policy is to ensure that no more land is used than is needed to meet operational requirements.
41WThere are currently some 32,000 acres (13,000 hectares) of surplus property scheduled for disposal, while the Strategic Defence Review set an ambitious target of £700 million in disposal receipts over four years. The Review also concluded that there should be more effective central strategic management of the estate. The Defence Estate Organisation and others are striving to ensure that the necessary processes are put in place to achieve this and we fully anticipate that further estate rationalisation will occur as a result.