Official Ministry of Defence documents show that the military training estate around St George’s Barracks and Piddington has previously been described as “core strategic infrastructure for Defence”, while specialist training delivered from Bicester has included courses for international military personnel.
The records raise further questions about the proposed use of MOD Bicester Site A for large-scale asylum accommodation and whether the wider strategic importance and ongoing role of the surrounding defence estate has been properly considered.
In planning evidence submitted by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation in 2019, the MOD described St George’s Barracks, Site A and the associated Piddington Training Area as “CORE strategic infrastructure for Defence”.
The document went further, stating that the sites were expected to become “more intensively utilised” as the MOD rationalised its estate elsewhere, and that the combination of built and rural training facilities in the area was fundamental to developing highly trained service personnel in specialist capabilities.
A long-established and intensively used training area
The same MOD evidence confirms that Piddington Training Area has been used for military training since 1942. According to the MOD, the facility has no restrictions on operating hours and can effectively be used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including for regular night-time exercises. Its use was described as varied and extensive, including training by demolition teams, search teams, infantry units, reservists, cadets and civilian authorities.
The MOD’s evidence also records routine demolition training at Piddington, with the site authorised for the use of explosive charges of up to 2kg. Infantry exercises can involve blank ammunition, battle-noise simulators and helicopters, including Chinooks carrying out troop insertion exercises. And critically, the MOD told the planning inquiry that because it was reducing its estate elsewhere, there was a “strong likelihood” that training on the site would intensify.
International specialist training delivered from Bicester
The British Army’s own International Defence Training catalogue also demonstrates the wider role played by Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search training at Bicester.
The catalogue lists DEMS as the training school for a number of specialist international courses, including:
- International Maritime Explosive Ordnance Disposal
- International Search Adviser
- International Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Trainer
- International Ground Sign Awareness Instructor
These are specialist military courses specifically offered through the Army’s international defence training programme. Historic reporting has also highlighted the international reach of the Bicester facility, including training provided to personnel from numerous overseas nations.
International training can also generate income for Defence
MOD financial guidance shows there is also a formal mechanism through which international defence training can be charged for. JSP 368, the MOD’s Guide to Repayment, states that international defence training can be charged on a full-cost basis, while spare training capacity may in some circumstances be charged at a revenue-maximising rate. The guidance also specifically covers the MOD’s “Selling into Wider Markets” arrangements, under which surplus capacity can be used for income generation where it is actively marketed. This does not mean every course delivered at Bicester is operated commercially. It does, however, demonstrate that international military training can have both strategic and financial value to the MOD.
Why does this matter for Site A?
These records add another important dimension to the debate surrounding the Government’s plans for MOD Bicester Site A. The MOD’s own evidence has previously described St George’s Barracks, Site A and Piddington as part of a strategically important defence estate, predicted increased military use and highlighted the unique specialist training capabilities provided by the area.
At the same time, the British Army continues to advertise specialist international EOD and counter-IED training delivered through DEMS.
Wrong Plan. Wrong Site. believes that raises legitimate questions which deserve clear answers.
How has the strategic defence value of the wider Bicester estate been assessed before the proposed repurposing of Site A?
What impact could the proposal have on neighbouring military training operations?
And has the value of retaining this land for future defence requirements been fully considered?
At a time when the Government is itself placing renewed emphasis on defence capability and investment, those questions are particularly important.
This campaign has consistently argued that MOD Bicester is the wrong site for this proposal.
The MOD’s own historic evidence gives yet another reason why that decision deserves proper scrutiny.
