Whittington Barracks in Lichfield is set to be transformed into the home of military medicine from April 2010, the Ministry of Defence announced today.

Trainees, medics and management staff from around the country will relocate to the site in a £200 million project to provide high quality, living accommodation, offices, and training facilities to the region.

And the move will bring new investment and jobs.

It means staff will be located within easy travelling distance to Birmingham’s Selly Oak Hospital where many servicemen and women are treated.

Planning approval for the redevelopment of Whittington Barracks has been granted as part of the Midlands Medical Accommodation project (MMA).

Around 2,000 military and civilian staff will eventually work at the barracks when the MMA project is completed in 2014.

Defence Minister Derek Twigg, said today: “This decision confirms that the West Midlands will be the central focus of the Defence Medical Services.

“We shall build on the successes of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and our existing partnerships with the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust and Birmingham City University,” he added.