Princess Anne visited the Imjin Station Officers ’ Mess at HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps ( ARRC ) in Innsworth to open the newly built Carne Building Officers ’ single living accommodation .

She met key army personnel as she unveiled a plaque at the army base .

The standard of single-soldier accommodation is being improved across the estate .

Princess Anne , who lives in Gloucestershire , was greeted by key personnel at HQ ARRC and their guests , including Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire , Edward Gillespie OBE .

The new officers ’ accommodation at the Imjin Barracks in Innsworth were named after Colonel James Carne .

Colonel Carne was the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion , The Gloucestershire Regiment during the Korean War in 1951 .

The battalion was overrun by Chinese forces at the River Imjin , winning the nickname “ The Glorious Glosters ” and earning Colonel Carne the Victoria Cross .

During her visit , Princess Anne was given a tour of the new accommodation block by Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Wooddisse , commander of the ARRC .

The Carne building is the “ most advanced Smart building on the Government estate ”, which allows for energy saving by monitoring consumption .

Imjin Barracks is the first site to benefit from this new wave of Net Zero Carbon construction , which is delivering major improvements to the design and delivery of the Army ’ s Single Living Accommodation .

The three-storey building , which includes a Counter-Terrorism Measures ( CTM ) level 2 compliant roof , was constructed via Modern Methods of Construction ( MMC ). Using 3D volumetric construction , units arrived on site up to 90 % complete , allowing for significantly faster construction

The new SLA comprises 69 en-suite bedrooms , alongside communal living and dining facilities , kitchens , drying rooms and utility rooms . The bedrooms have been equipped with full-size double beds and designed to maximise storage space provided for their occupants , while shared kitchens are fitted with state-of-the-art hobs and combination microwaves , bespoke fridges with individual coded compartments for cold food storage and lockers for dry food storage .

The building also includes photovoltaic panels on the roof and connected walkway , air source heat pumps for heating and hot water and Nano Crystal Cell Battery technology , which can hold up to 1327 kWh of energy . It is anticipated that the battery will enable the building to go entirely off grid during the summer months .

The £ 13M project was delivered for the Army by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation ( DIO ), contracting to offsite construction specialist Reds10 and design and engineering consultants Arcadis .