Hullavington!?

[Stinkermink]

Anyone lived in MQ there?

Are you posted there or actually been allocated a MQ there?

I ask because there is a mahoosive shortage of MQs at Hullavington. The overspill is being housed at RAF Lyneham a few miles up the road and I have even heard of some being housed at South Cerney and as far away as Devizes - although to my knowlwdge there is now only 1 street of MQs not been sold off in Devizes.

asking because posted to Abbeywood, but been told possible housing at Hullavington or Colerne due to shortage at A/wood and think lyneham too far. I'm in a pickle really. Don't know where we're going to be so trying to cover all bases (pardon the pun). How bad a shortage??

You're more likely to be offered Colerne or Corsham if you are posted to Abbeywood.

Ok. What are they like

Tatty! Actually there is not much difference in stye and quality between Corsham/Colerne/Hullavington and Lyneham. Most are grade 3 for condition. What size and type are you after? I would base your choice on the facilities and so on in the area as the quarters are all so similar. You are unlikely to get Hullavington though, loads of people who work there have to live in Corsham, S. Cerney, Lyneham etc as they are so short on quarters

Good to know, I don't know the area only had hullavington in mind as that's the first place the DE lady said. Colerne another possibility. We'll be in a 3 bed quarter. I guess they are the normal old style one with L shaped living room?
What is the main primary school and nursery at colerne? I have a 5 yo DS and 2.5 yo DD. Thank you

We had a nosy round Colerne, Emersons' Green and Corsham at the weekend. The HIC said anywhere within 25 miles of Abbey Wood could be used, which by my calculation, puts Lyneham out of radius (by about 2 miles).

MQ in both Corsham and Colerne were not in the villages themselves - about 1-2 miles away from the traditional village. The MQ in Corsham looked hideous - really grotty private (or possibly council) housing estate with no shops or facilities (though did see a primary school and a community centre). Colerne looked OK - all forces accommodation (no scary council estate) but with a Hive, facilities on the base (including a nursery). The primary school is in the old village - 1 mile away.

Didn't make it to Hullavington but apparently they're quite nice too. Apparently Colerne has a lower grading because of the lack of facilities but the quality of the housing seemed OK to me (modernised kitchens, new carpets in all the ones we peered into).

Emerson's Green - massive civvy housing estate (4000 homes) of which 200 are PFI housing used for MOD accommodation (i.e not MHS). All brand new and shiny, lots of facilities as you're right on the edge of Bristol.

They also use SFA in Long Ashton, Stoke Park and Keynsham but we didn't look at these, though I think Long Ashton and Stoke Park are the same as Emerson's Green (i.e. PFI not MHS!)

If you go for Colerne ask for Northwood - these are ex-RAF houses and therefore that much bigger than Southwood. The nursery on camp has a good reputation (I think the same company runs the one in Hullavington but that has been going for less than a year and I don't know what people think of it). The primary school is in the village itself (about 1/2 - 3/4 a mile away).

The majority of the PFI houses in Bristol are officers, they are always in incredibly short cupply.

Colerne is fab if you like the country and can drive. It is very rural and quite isolating if yu don't drive - you are bout halfway between Chippenham and Bath but there is no public transport to speak of. Corsham you are slightly nearer the "town" itself. OK, it's not much of a town by some peoples standards but there are more facilities than Colerne (which has a One-Stop and a Post Office!). If you go to Corsham there is a pre-school and primary school at Neston which were highly thought of (my info is a year or so out of date though!)

I worked for one of the "welfare" agencies that covered this whole area and personally would not choose Hullavington as we seemed to get so many housing problems there. Lots of people that lived in Corsham liked the fact that because it is tri-service and there is no single unit there, then you don't get that thing were everybody knows everbody elses business :)

Liking the sound of that BOOsilla, would rather get out of the goldfish bowl! Thanks too WWSB. We were hoping to have a look at the area but we're not able to yet. Hence all the questions. I think Lyneham is a bit too far and plus with the draw down, didn't fancy the half empty schools etc. Got posting confirmation now so we can get on with applying etc now. Colerne sounds like the best bet. Luckily I can drive and I don't Mind being rural, also really don't fancy Bristol! Although happy to dip in and out of there.

I lived in Colerne for 2 years and loved it! As well as the nursery on the camp there is also a pre-school in the village and a really lovely pre-school in North Wraxall, which was about 5/10 mins drive away.

Can you remember the name of the preschools and nursery? Glad to hear you loved it!

North Wraxall

I can't remember the name of the one in the Colerne) but it was the only one, so shouldn't be too hard to find!

This is the nursery on the camp

Got Hullavington! Just trying to get details of the house now. Wish me luck I could be on hold a while!!