Spelling the end of a military base dating back to 1798
went on to confirm the Ministry of Defence has now released enough land to build 55,000 homes within this parliamentary term.
He added the long term plan was to secure more certainty for military families and allow them to put down roots in communities.
There are currently no plans for where the troops from Invicta Park will move to.
The barracks, which has been based in the town in some form since 1798, is also home to the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers, with a 1,200-strong Nepalese community making Maidstone its home as a result.
In February 2014 we reported how Maidstone Borough Council was eyeing the site up for a development of up to 1,300 homes.
The authority announced in its draft Local Plan that it expected the Army to quit the site by 2031 but the Ministry of Defence flatly denied any such plans, saying a review was carried out in March 2013 with some bases earmarked for closure of which Invicta Park was not one.
Despite the denial, the site remained in the authority’s plans.
In May Canterbury City Council lost its bid to secure 147 homes at the city’s decommissioned Howe Barracks, which instead were purchased on a long-term lease by the London Borough of Redbridge, 60 miles away, to house families from that area.
The Canterbury authority, which has 2,500 people on its housing register, said it submitted a “robust and comprehensive” offer but lost out.
‘While the size and structure of the military has changed to meet different threats our estate has failed to adapt’