Whilst the majority of the British Army’s vehicle fleet is in unit lines, in transit or at training locations, up to 7,000 vehicles at any one time are undergoing maintenance, upgrade or storage in centralised logistics hubs. The vast majority of this fleet is stored in Monchengladbach in Germany or at Ashchurch in Gloucestershire.

The Defence Industry Organisation (DIO) has made significant investment into the Ashchurch site, with the DE&S facility being modernised and upgraded to allow the vehicle fleet to be stored in a controlled environment to prevent deterioration. CampbellReith’s role includes the provision of structural end civil engineering design services associated with the provision of a new Vehicle Receipt, Inspection, Issue and Storage (RIIS) facility for up to 4,100 military vehicles. These range from quadbikes and Land Rovers through to armoured fighting vehicles of many types, with a maximum vehicle weight of 40 tonnes.

The project involves the design and construction of 8 storage buildings (circa 11,000-15,000m²), 3 workshops (circa 3,500m²) and a 2 storey 600m² administration building, together with associated access roads, hard standings and infrastructure. MoD Security requirements apply to all buildings
(including counter terrorism measures), being designed and constructed to MoD specifications (‘MilSpecs’) and meet to a BREEAM excellent target. The vehicle storage buildings are required to provide a Controlled Humidity Environment (CHE), which minimise the maintenance burden and preserves the fleet for immediate use. Workshops are designed to support 25 tonne overhead gantry cranes.