Mid Bedfordshire MP tells government ‘do right by all service personnel’ at Chicksands base

Mid Bedfordshire MP Alistair Strathern has called on the government to “do the right thing by all service personnel” living at the Chicksands base after it was revealed there are no plans to upgrade accommodation on the base over the next six years.

In the House of Commons, the Labour MP pressed defence minister Andrew Murrison yesterday (February 19) to revisit the government’s decision not to make any improvements to the “dilapidated service accommodation on the base”.

Government statistics revealed that over 900 Single Living Accommodation bed spaces in Chicksands, near Shefford, were at the worst grades of three or four, which Mr Strathern says means “75 per cent of Single Living Accommodation in the base received the worst quality grades”. There were 489 grade three beds, and 431 grade four.

In December last year, the government have announced their intention to close the base in 2030, but no detailed plans have been published about the closure.

Alistair Strathern MP said: “Our armed forces deserve accommodation fit for heroes. It’s shameful that over 900 personnel are living in ramshackle housing at Chicksands.

“I’m concerned that rather than improve the housing, the Government are using the bases’ closure as an excuse to let it further decline.

“Anyone who makes the decision to put on a uniform and step forward to serve should expect to live in dignity in decent accommodation, it’s why I pushed the government to do right by these personnel today.”