THE ribbon was cut to mark the unveiling of some of the first homes for military families in a £250 million scheme.

Last week Wiltshire Council leader Councillor Jane Scott was joined by Major General Richard Wardlaw, Army director of Basing and Infrastructure, and housebuilder Lovell’s major projects director John Leary to ‘open’ one of the houses completed at the Plumer Estate, in Ludgershall.

Air Cdre Wendy Rothery, Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) head of accommodation and Army Basing Programme (ABP) director Mark Duddy, also attended the event.

A total of 917 new homes are being built by Lovell, in partnership with the DIO, for service personnel and their families returning from Germany to South Wiltshire through the ABP.

The ribbon-cutting marked a key moment for a the high-volume construction programme being delivered by Lovell. Homes are currently being completed at a rate of 16 per week with the rate set to peak at around 26 per week, far outstripping the typical industry delivery pace of one to two a week.

Lovell major projects director John Leary said: “Thanks to the close working relationship with our project partners, DIO and WYG and the specialist supply chain, our team continues to make excellent progress on this demanding accelerated homes programme.

“We were delighted to have the opportunity to unveil some of the high-quality homes so far completed and mark the occasion with our guests and project partners.”