7:06am Thursday 9th September 2010
A new £44 million headquarters for the British Army's land forces will be officially opened in Hampshire today.
Minister for Armed Forces, Nick Harvey and the Commander-in-Chief Land Forces, General Sir Peter Wall, will declare the facility in Andover.
More than 2,000 military and civilian personnel are now working at the refurbished site, called Marlborough Lines, which was previously occupied by the Defence Equipment and Support organisation.
The staff moved in between May and July this year, primarily from Wilton just outside Salisbury and Upavon on Salisbury Plain.
Land Forces was formed on April 1, 2008, when Land Command and the Adjutant General's Command combined.
An Army spokeswoman said: ''Combining the two headquarters was a cost-effective move to improve HQLF's ability to provide the military capability to conduct and support operations, with less duplication of staff work, more effective ways of working and improved internal communication.
''The new headquarters' buildings provide a modern working environment that is more efficient, economical and environmentally friendly.''
The cost of the move will be off-set by efficiency savings and the sale of the Wilton site, the spokeswoman explained. The £44 million will be recouped in eight years.
The site, a former RAF station, was renamed Marlborough Lines in honour of John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, who was one of Britain's greatest generals and an ancestor of Winston Churchill.
Office buildings were named Blenheim, Ramillies and Sedgemoor after the Duke's victories and the garden outside Blenheim is called the Churchill Garden.
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