4 March 2013
A key document that looks at the potential to grow the number of houses in Britain, the cost advantages and other benefits of building homes in this way, has been presented to Housing Minister, Mark Prisk MP.
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The Construction Industry Council, the representative forum for the professional bodies, research organisations and specialist trade associations in the construction industry, was commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to make recommendations on how offsite construction can grow the housing sector.
The resulting Offsite Housing Review report highlights the self build sector in particular. It describes how an extensive network of local architects, builders, and property agents are engaged in this market, with the total number of dwellings constructed each year standing at 7,000 units in England, and 12,000 units across the UK.
The Report says that this segment, while currently quite small, has the potential to grow. It explains how the fraction of self-build homes in the UK falls a long way short of what is being achieved on the continent (7% in the UK compared to European averages around 50%), and reasons an expectation that the segment could expand significantly, with Government support, to an output of 15,000-25,000 homes by 2020, with offsite factory made homes playing a big part in that.
Offsite can refer to anything from factory made walls, rooms, entire houses or kit homes and includes all sorts of prefabricated houses.
The Report also details the cost effectiveness of building homes this way. Research suggests the housing associations that use a builder and an architect to build homes in the normal way are spending a lot more per square foot, per build, than using the offsite method.
Furthermore, it is likely that Mr Prisk will approach the National Self Build Association, together with the government’s private rented sector taskforce, to highlight the potential for developing the use of off-site construction in delivering new privately rented homes.
Tim Doherty, Best Practice Manager for the National Self Build Association, said: “Time savings on site should make a huge difference to the final cost of any offsite construction project. So, carefully chosen offsite processes can deliver both speed and improved quality control, which is why the self build sector is so keen to embrace these sorts of technologies”.
Currently around 8-9% of all self build homes are kit homes of one sort or another. Self builders are generally quite attracted by the idea of building their homes using these new innovative ways. The Offsite Housing Review Report could be just the impetus that the industry needs.
Will the Offsite Housing Review bolster the self build sector, offsite construction and the industry as a whole? HAVE YOUR SAY BELOW, or by exploring and contributing to our Forum…
