MoD Abbey Wood, visitor entrance approach

MoD Abbey Wood is a

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

establishment at

Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church d ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, United Kingdom. The purpose-built site houses the MoD's

Defence Equipment and Support Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is a trading entity and joint-defence organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence. It began operating on 2 April 2007, following the merger of the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics ...

and Submarine Delivery Agency procurement organisations. It was opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in July 1996, after which 15 government departments employing some 13,400 people relocated to the site.

History

A total of 69 sites were originally considered for the headquarters of the MOD's procurement organisation, with Solihull, Sunderland, Keynsham and South Wales being amongst the other options. Work commenced in September 1993 to build MOD Abbey Wood's offices, restaurants, library, sports facilities, training rooms, auditoria and conference rooms, support facilities and nursery. The site was designed with a feel of connecting "neighbourhoods" and is surrounded by an artificial lake for security. Abbey Wood was formally opened by

in July 1996. The campus cost £254 million to build, and has been described as "the most progressive public sector office complex built in Britain for a generation". The site won the 1997

RICS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...

Energy Efficiency award for the ecological design of the building, however, its environmental friendliness was later questioned, as many employees travelled to the site by car even though it is adjacent to the

Filton Abbey Wood railway station Filton Abbey Wood railway station serves the town of Filton in South Gloucestershire, England, inside the Bristol conurbation. It is from . There are four platforms but minimal facilities. The station is managed by Great Western Railway (trai ...

. The entire site is 40 Hectares (98 acres) - the equivalent of 50 football pitches - and has a perimeter of 3km (1.86 miles). After Abbey Wood opened, the MoD Procurement Executive departments from across the UK, mainly London and Bath, relocated to the new facility. Subsequently, further consolidation to the site has occurred. The relocation of departments, bringing together 15 offices and 4,400 staff, was the largest ever attempted by a British government department. The site manages procurement contracts for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. Abbey Wood is the largest MoD site in the UK; about 5,500 people worked at the site when it opened, rising to 8,500 prior to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

References

External links

Architect's page describing the building projectDE&S official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey Wood Installations of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Buildings and structures in South Gloucestershire District Filton