Government Should Set Target Of 75,000 Modular Homes Per Year By 2030

 A target of 75,000 homes per year should be set for the modular housing sector, a new report by a major government advisor has found. Co-authored by Mark Farmer, the government’s modern methods of construction (MMC) champion, and Mike De’Ath, partner at HTA Design, Build Homes Build Jobs Build Innovation calls on the government to make modular the driving force behind its ‘build, build, build’ agenda. It argues that up to 50,000 new jobs could be created if the government were to set a target of 75,000 modular homes being delivered per year by 2030. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/government-should-set-target-of-75000-modular-homes-per-year-by-2030-major-report-finds-67966?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Council Housing Company Submits MMC Scheme For Planning

Barnet Homes will use modular system developed by architect RCKa. Council-owned housing company Barnet Homes has submitted plans drawn up by architect RCKa for 47 modular homes on the Broadfields Estate in Edgware. The homes will be built using RCKa’s own “Common Home” system – a set of house types based on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), and specifically developed by the architect to minimise construction wastage, cost and unnecessary complexity in the design and construction of new homes. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/council-housing-company-submits-mmc-scheme-for-planning/5107491.article

Industry Launches 100,000 ‘Homes For Heroes’ Drive

A campaign to build 100,000 factory-built homes for key workers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic has been launched by a group of major housing associations, developers, residential architects and modular housing manufacturers. The Homes for Heroes campaign is deliberately designed to echo the post-war drive to build homes for returning soldiers after the First and Second World Wars, but is instead focused on helping those who have risked their lives to keep UK safe and functioning during the covid-19 crisis. The aim of the campaign is to persuade government to support investment in modular construction and set aside public land for new homes. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/industry-launches-100000-homes-for-heroes-drive/5105954.article

Huge Losses At Modular Firm Handed £30m Of Public Cash

A modular homes specialist granted £30m of government funding this week racked-up a pre-tax loss of £7.7m in its latest published accounts. Yorkshire based ilke Homes was handed a £30m loan by Homes England earlier this week to ramp-up production at its Knaresborough factory which opened last year. The money was announced by Housing minister Esther McVey who hailed it as a “significant step” in the creation of a “Construction Corridor” in the north of England. It is the largest investment by Homes England in a modular housing business. Read more on the Construction Enquirer website.

https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/11/08/huge-losses-at-modular-firm-handed-30m-of-public-cash/

Jenrick Backs Modular Housing At Factory Visit

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has visited a LoCal Homes factory in Aldridge in Walsall to get a first-hand glimpse at off-site manufacturing. The factory, which opened in October last year by Accord, builds low-carbon homes ‘up to four times faster’ than traditional homes by using modern methods of construction. Jenrick said: “I was delighted to visit the West Midlands, where I’m from, which is blazing a trail for the modern methods of construction that are transforming how quickly and affordably homes are built. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/jenrick-backs-modular-housing-at-factory-visit/

Common Misconception Over Durability Of Modern Modular Homes

Research by YouGov on behalf of Home Group found that over half of those surveyed say they would not want to live in a modular home, yet nearly 90% failed to identify a modern modular product. Just under half (41%) believe that modern modular builds are not as durable as traditionally-built homes. Using a selection of images from which respondents could identify modular homes, many identified the two container home images as modular (75% and 78% respectively), whereas only 11% identified today’s product as a modular home. Read more on the Home Group website.

https://www.homegroup.org.uk/Media/News/Home-Group-news/Public-perceptions-of-modular-homes-not-based-on-modular-products

‘Modular’ Homes to Replace Properties Lost To Right to Buy

Sandwell Council is to buy 41 sustainable ‘modular’ homes in Smethwick to boost its housing stock and replace properties lost to the controversial right to buy scheme. The council is buying 19 two-bedroom, 18 three-bedroom and four four-bedroom properties with the reminder of the homes being sold by the developer on the open market. The homes are being built by Mar City Homes Ltd using a modular construction system, meaning they are made indoors in factory conditions and then transported and assembled on permanent foundations on site. Read more on the Sandwell Council website.