The area had been used as a training ground for the army from the late 19th century with no formal military infrastructure until 1900 when the Royal Engineers commenced the build of a number of camps, including Blackdown.

What remained of Frith Barracks were closed in the late 1970s and the land left to vegetation and used as a Military Training Area.

Dettingen and Alma Barracks have been closed and sold, and by 2002, demolished for housing development.

[2] A decision to sell the barracks was announced in January 2008 by the then Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth, who said that the sale would not take place before 2013.

[4] Part of the barracks has been demolished to facilitate the construction of the new 1,200 homes in the Mindenhurst neighbourhood.