Defence Training Estate


Defence Training Estates is an organisation within the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. It is the operating division of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, responsible for the management of the 78% of the defence estate allocated as Training Areas and Ranges. The organisation is responsible for provision of sufficient and suitable estate to support the training requirements of the British Armed Forces whilst assuring environmental management and appropriate historical and archaeological preservation.

Structure and partners

The organisation is headquartered at the Waterloo Lines, Warminster and has a number of regional headquarters responsible for the management of the training estate on a regional basis.
DTE works with nature conservation bodies to safeguard designated sites and protected species within the estate. These bodies include the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
Some practical support is outsourced to Landmarc Solutions, a joint venture between Interserve and PAE.

Public access

DTE operate a principle of presumption of public access to the training estate. Access is limited where training and exercise activities are taking place or where the use of munitions precludes safe access.

Conservation and archaeology

As much of the training estate remains undeveloped, either through habitation or agriculture, the training estate holds considerable conservation and archaeological value.

Training Estates

Wales & West Midlands

Training areas that the DTE is responsible for include:

Salisbury Plain Training Area

The Salisbury Plain Training Area covers around half of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, and provides a number of facilities including: