A £259million revamp of the military base in Ashchurch will begin in September.

Construction traffic will be rumbling in and out of the Tewkesbury site for the next five years as the storage facility for the British Army's land equipment fleet is modernised.

It is a stone's throw from the new Cotswolds Designer Outlet, close to junction 9 of the M5.

The Vehicle Storage Support Programme (VSSP) will include demolition of 58 buildings, construction of 12 new buildings and refurbishment of one existing facility, plus renewal of site-wide infrastructure.

The aim is to provide more sustainable and effective storage and maintenance solutions for thousands of military vehicles.

The site employs around 600 people and had previously been earmarked for a mixed use development, of homes, shops and offices. The Ministry of Defence have since confirmed it will stay open until at least 2040.

Warren Webster, DIO's programme director for army major projects and programmes, said the redevelopment would " future-proof" the army's vehicle storage and maintenance facilities at Ashchurch for years to come.

Skanska UK is preparing to start demolition on site in September after being awarded a contract for the work by the Ministry of Defence.

The project will employ up to 400 people, a number of whom are expected to be from the Tewkesbury area, with opportunities available in demolition, groundworks, structural steelwork and scaffolding. The project will also support 10 apprenticeships.

Mace will provide technical services for the project which is expected to be complete by 2027 and will provide controlled humidity environment storage for 4,100 vehicles.

Steve Holbrook, managing director for Skanska UK's construction arm, said it planned to use greener solutions and modern methods of construction to drive down carbon emissions at the site.

Belinda Lunn, senior responsible owner for VSSP, said: "We are very excited to be working with Skanska to deliver this project which will bring the Ashchurch site back up to full operating capability.

Whilst the majority of the Army's vehicle fleet is either on, or training for operations, a sizeable fleet is centrally stored to ensure that they are ready to deploy when required.

"VSSP will redevelop this centralised facility and deliver a modern, sustainable storage solution that ensures operational readiness of the Army's vehicles by minimising the need for maintenance."