RAF airbases at Mildenhall, Alconbury and Molesworth will be sold off and turned into housing, a defence minister has announced.

Mark Lancaster made the announcement to the House of Commons after the US airforce announced last year that it planned to leave the base by 2020, prompting fears about the impact on local traders.

It is one of 12 Ministry of Defence sites which will be sold, which will generate £500m for the Treasury.

The 12 sites are expected to create land for about 15,000 new homes and are part of a wave of sales which will see the MOD estate reduce by 30 per cent

The MOD currently owns about one per cent of the UK land.

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 to keep 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 sites are:

• Kneller Hall in Twickenham

• Claro and Deverell barracks in Ripon

• RAF sites Molesworth, Alconbury and Mildenhall in Suffolk

• Lodge Hill in Kent

• Craigiehall in Edinburgh

• HMS Nelson Wardroom in Portsmouth

• Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire

• RAF Barnham in Suffolk

• MOD Felton in London