If you’ve been eyeing a golf course recently, not to putter on but buy, Britain could be the place to look.
The British Ministry of Defense, the MoD, is set to sell one tenth of the land assets it owns in Britain, including a number of historically-important bases, and five golf courses. The sale is set for completion by 2040 and will make land worth a total £1 billion (US$1.24 billion) available for purchase. The number of properties to be sold has grown from 35 to 91.
Michael Fallon, the British Defense Secretary, recently said the UK has spent billions keeping property that fails to meet Armed Forces’ needs. The plan delivers property for service personnel and their families, he said. Earmarking money where it is required will provide improved facilities to train for the Armed Forces.
Sites may include the spiritual home of the famous Black Watch regiment, Scotland’s historic Fort George barracks, which was used as a mock landing site for the D-Day landings at Normandy in the Second World War.
A trio of barracks in Wales will be shuttered, as will the same number in Northern Ireland. In York, two barracks will be sold along with almost 33,000 acres of land and ten airfields.
The move has met resistance by trade unions because job losses are likely to happen.
“We are opposed to these closure plans that throw the future into doubt for thousands of staff,” said Mark Serwotka, PCS union general secretary.
The opposition Labour Party has also voiced concern over possible implications of the mass sale, RT UK reported.
Servicemen and their families will have to move, and civilian staff will encounter relocation. Many face aggravating uncertainty since the precise location of their next base is not yet certain, warned Shadow Defense Secretary, Nia Griffiths.