Willmott Dixon Secures £15.3M Catterick Town Centre Redevelopment Contract to Enhance Community Facilities

Willmott Dixon has been awarded a £15.3 million contract by North Yorkshire Council to transform Catterick town centre, creating new facilities for both the military community at Britain’s largest garrison and thousands of local residents.

The comprehensive redevelopment, expected to complete by winter 2026, will create a vibrant new heart for the town serving Catterick Garrison and the surrounding area. Work on the scheme has started following preparatory works carried out by the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO).

At the centre of the scheme is the construction of a new town square on Shute Road and a Community and Enterprise building which will house offices for small businesses as well as space for community groups and food retail. The project also includes extensive landscaping improvements and upgrades to Coronation Park featuring improved play spaces, a skate park, and sensory and reflective areas. New accessible routes to the town centre will be created alongside improvements to existing footpaths and cycleways.

The civic square will host local events and community activities, including markets, festivals, music events and shows, strengthening ties between service personnel and residents and creating a stronger local identity for the area.

North Yorkshire Council awarded the contract to Willmott Dixon via the YORbuild2 framework following the government’s £19 million Levelling Up Fund award in 2022, with the remaining match-funding coming from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and the local authority. The project represents a partnership between North Yorkshire Council and the MoD’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation, with design support from Align Property Partners, the council-owned property consultancy, and Barton Howe Associates as landscape architects.

Dignitaries including the leader of North Yorkshire Council, Cllr Carl Les, the council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Mark Crane and former Catterick Garrison Commander, Colonel (retired) Nick Millen OBE, recently gathered at the Shute Road site to witness the early progress.

Nick Corrigan, director at Willmott Dixon, said: “We’re delighted to be working with North Yorkshire Council and the Ministry of Defence on this transformative project for Catterick. As a company with deep roots in the North East, we understand the importance of this development for the military community at Britain’s largest garrison and the thousands of local residents who will benefit from these fantastic new facilities.

“We’ll be working closely with local suppliers throughout the construction phase, ensuring that as much as possible of the investment stays within the local economy, creating jobs and supporting regional businesses. Creating opportunities for the local community will be at the heart of this project. Willmott Dixon, alongside its supply chain partners, are set to create 10 new employment opportunities for local people, more than 200 apprenticeship weeks and 17 work experience placements. We’ll also deliver 350 hours of employment support to those furthest from the job market through our specialised ‘Building Lives Academy’ programme.

“The new town square and Community and Enterprise building will create a vibrant heart for Catterick, bringing together military families and local residents in spaces designed for community events, local businesses, and social connection. Combined with the improvements to Coronation Park and better accessibility throughout the town centre, this development will create a lasting legacy that serves the community for generations to come.”

The leader of North Yorkshire Council, Cllr Carl Les, said: “I am delighted that this scheme is now underway. This will be a transformative development which will not only provide new facilities for the town, but create jobs for local people. It is a fine example of partnership working and will help improve the lives of a great many people in the area, both those serving in the military and their families and also residents of Catterick and the surrounding area.”

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Mark Crane, added: “This is an exciting development which will deliver an attractive, vibrant and inclusive town centre. It will not only bring fresh investment and provide employment but will also create a stronger local identity and help to reinforce ties between service personnel and residents.”

The commander of Catterick Garrison, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anderson RA, said: “Catterick is home to one of the largest Army bases in the country and it is fantastic to see construction getting underway to transform this area of the town centre. The investment will bring new facilities and opportunities to benefit Armed Forces personnel, their families and veterans, alongside the civilian community.”

Former garrison commander, Colonel Nick Millen OBE, who was involved in the scheme’s inception during his tenure between 2005 and 2013, said: “It is lovely to see it come together. I think the really important thing about it is what it means to the community. Whatever we can do to reinforce the military presence here as part of the wider community is to be welcomed. It will bring everyone together so we can be as one.”

North Yorkshire Council’s member for Hipswell and Colburn and the authority’s Armed Forces champion, Cllr Kevin Foster, said the development would provide a focus for the community: “This area has never really had an identity. Having a fantastic community building will ensure a central focus where people can meet. This scheme has been made possible with government and council money, but it will only prove to be a success if the local community take it on and embrace it, which I am confident they will.”

MP for Richmond and Northallerton, Rishi Sunak, said he had been proud to help establish the Levelling Up Fund which enabled the scheme to move ahead: “The development will bring a new civic focus to Catterick Garrison which I am sure will be welcomed by the residents – both military and civilian – of the garrison and nearby Colburn. We will have a town centre which will help bring the garrison’s community together and encourage a greater sense of pride.”