Mildenhall amongst bases to sold off

9 SRW SR-71A Blackbird 61-7967 taxiing at RAF Mildenhall in 1989 (aviationphotocompany.com/Bob Archer)

The Ministry of Defence has annonced today that three current United States Air Force bases in East Anglia will be sold for housing when the withdrawal of US forces from them is complete. RAF Mildenhall, Molesworth and Alconbury are to be disposed of with only Mildenhall currently hosting flying activities.

It is not clear when the disposal will take place - Mildenhall was orginally intended to be handed back to the MoD in 2020 when the USAF moved out. Press reports in autumn 2015 suggested that the hand back would not take place until 2021 at the earliest.

The announcement forms part of a wider programe of MoD property sell offs, with 12 sites in total to be sold off as part of the disposal which is expected to generate up to £500 million for the government. The complete list of sites is below:-

Kneller Hall in Twickenham
Claro and Deverell barracks in Ripon
RAF sites Molesworth and Alconbury in Cambridgeshire, and Mildenhall in Suffolk.
Lodge Hill in Kent
Craigiehall in Edinburgh
HMS Nelson Wardroom in Portsmouth
Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire
RAF Barnham in Suffolk
MOD Feltham in London

Full MoD announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-minister-mark-lancaster-announces-release-of-mod-sites-for-development