‘Substandard’ accommodation at a local barracks is to be replaced after it was deemed to “not comply” with the duty of care the army has towards its recruits. 

A planning application submitted to Bracknell Forest Council on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence said the “substandard” living quarters at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) are having a “negative effect” on the retention of service personnel and is “damaging to the reputation” of the army. 

The plan proposes to demolish the existing Building 42, a three-storey single living accommodation block of 60 bedspaces, which is said to be in “poor condition” and “detrimental to recruitment and retention”, replacing it with a new a three-storey 63-bed premises. 

It would be split into 19 spaces on the ground floor, 22 on the first floor and a further 22 on the second floor.  

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A second three-storey building to accommodate 47 senior non-commissioned officers’ bedspaces would also be built at the RMAS – which is located in the southwest corner of a much larger area of land utilised by the Ministry of Defence – on the site of the existing car park. 

Two garage blocks would also be demolished, and the area resurfaced to provide a car park for up to 22 vehicles. 

The application states that the plans, if approved, will provide accommodation “to a much higher standard than currently on site” and allow some “decanting of personnel from existing sub-standard buildings”.