Defence minister Mark Lancaster said the move was expected to raise £500 million, which will be ploughed back into frontline defence budgets.

These sites will form the first tranche of the MOD’s plan to reduce by 30 per cent the size of its built estate. MOD’s estate spans one per cent of all UK land and covers 452,000 hectares. As part of that plan, the Ministry has committed to generating £1 billion through land sales during this parliament and contributing up to 55,000 homes.

Mr Lancaster said: “By streamlining the Defence estate, we will ensure that it better meets the needs of the Armed Forces well into the future. Defence has the strongest incentive to become more efficient; with every pound we make by disposing of excess land reinvested into a defence budget that keeps Britain safe.

“We are also making an important contribution of 55,000 homes to the wider government housing targets. Every acre that we can free up will ensure that more people have the opportunity to own their own home.”

The 12 sites are:

The MOD will announce further sites in due course, with a full list published in the Footprint Strategy later in 2016.