A significant upgrade to military infrastructure at Leuchars Station in Fife has been completed, delivering modernised facilities for soldiers based at the site, according to a press release from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO).
The £62 million project, carried out over two years, has provided The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the 2nd Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) with upgraded offices, garaging, a shared workshop, a central servicing and inspection facility, and a newly built bespoke store.
The work was delivered as part of the Army Basing Programme (ABP) by the DIO in partnership with contractors McLaughlin & Harvey Construction Ltd and Mott MacDonald.
At the formal opening of the new facilities on 5 March, Belinda Lunn, Defence Estate Optimisation (DEO) Army Programme Director, described the project as a major step forward for Army infrastructure in Scotland. She said:
“I am delighted to see the result of this significant investment at Leuchars Station, which has delivered high-quality facilities for service personnel. This major upgrade in technical infrastructure has set the benchmark for our long-term programme to enhance the Army estate in Scotland.”
Brigadier Jody Davies MBE, Commander 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland, also welcomed the improvements, stating:
“This impressive infrastructure upgrade delivered at Leuchars Station will enable our soldiers and officers to undertake their day-to-day duties in a modern, comfortable, and efficient working environment. It is excellent to see such investment in improved infrastructure to enhance how our people live, work, train and operate in Scotland.”
The DIO has said that the investment is already making a positive impact on personnel at Leuchars, with further improvements still to come. According to Barry Ray, DIO MPP Army Programme Delivery Leader, the work represents the final phase of the ABP Leuchars project. He noted:
“DIO has been pleased to work over the past 2 years with our industry partners McLaughlin & Harvey and Mott MacDonald on the fifth and final phase of the ABP Leuchars project, to provide the modern infrastructure the Army needs at Leuchars Station. We are thrilled that it is already making a positive difference for service personnel both today and will in future.”
According to the press release, the development is part of a wider effort to modernise UK military facilities. Martin Keys, Operations Director at McLaughlin & Harvey, emphasised the company’s role in delivering defence projects to high specifications, stating:
‘Utilising our specialist knowledge and growing defence capabilities we have delivered facilities that meet the highest standards of security, resilience, and functionality.’
Further investment at Leuchars Station is planned under the DEO Army Programme, with additional construction expected to begin in 2027. The government has stated that this will focus on living and technical infrastructure to support unit rebasing, as outlined in the 2021 Defence Integrated Review and Future Soldier initiative.
I am curious as to why comment is unavailable on the RFA Fort Victoria article.
Site had tech problems the other day, other articles too one couldn’t post.
How about.
Moving the army out again.
And housing new Squadrons of Typhoon at Leuchars.
Where they already were, and should have reminded.
The airfield remains operational, with the Typhoon infrastructure in place.
Absolutely, if the RAF Typhoon force is expanded, then either Leuchars or Leaming will have to be used again.
Perhaps a joint base for additional F35 and Typhoon, as I believe Marham is already getting crowded.
If we decided to expand the F35 force 90 ( four front line squadrons), then we would have to base a few squadrons elsewhere.
Yes Leeming too is available.
Hi mate Typhoons were never based at Leuchars. The Tornado F3 was the last permanent resident at Leuchars with 43 and 111 sqns. Typhoons have deployed to Leuchars for short deployments. I think they held QRA from there for a period while runway work was being carried out at Lossiemouth. But full Typhoon engineering/support infrastructure isn’t in place.
Typhoons were based at Leuchars, 1 & 6 Sqns, prior to moving to Lossiemouth
I’m sure I recall they were mate. 43 and 111 were indeed the F3 outfits there.
Yes, the Lossi QRA did move back there briefly while the runway was being done.
Well, you’d only really need to go back to the old status if there were some sort of ‘cold-war’ type scenario, like Russian aggression against a NATO member………