The armed forces community, and the wider public, will be aware of the assistance that the UK government has put in place to help Afghan citizens who worked in support of United Kingdom operations in Afghanistan, in meaningful and exposed roles. One aspect of the support being given to Afghan families under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), launched on 1 April 2021, is the temporary use of some vacant MOD housing. This is a UK-wide scheme and is already underway in some parts of the country.
Recent liaison between the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and our local district council, the Vale of White Horse (VoWH), has identified approximately 20 empty Service Families Accommodation (SFA) of various types across the Shrivenham and Watchfield ‘patches’ that are available for use in the ARAP scheme. These houses will be leased, managed and maintained by the VoWH. If used, they will provide suitable and stable homes for around 18 to 36 months whilst the council help the families find, and move, into privately rented homes. On current planning it is hoped that the first Afghan families will move in on, or around, the beginning of November this year.
Shrivenham Station is actively assisting the district council in every way that it can to achieve a positive outcome for all those on the ARAP scheme and for our own stakeholders; it is being kept informed of developments by the council, who have made a press release to inform the local civilian community.
The Shrivenham Station Commanding Officer said:
Further information can be obtained from the Station Welfare Office as further detail is received, and from the UK government website.