With the UK facing up to a severe shortage in housing, modular homes could provide an answer – and more are in the pipeline for the north-west of England.
Property development company Urban Splash have exchanged contracts with Peel L&P to build 347 modular homes at Wirral Waters in Merseyside, and are planning for a new development in New Islington, Manchester.
Modular homes offer an efficient solution to the need to get more properties onto the market. They can be built on a production line, and can be put together indoors, negating the perennial problem of the British weather hampering the construction industry.
Quick and efficient
With the industry having to contend with a lack of skilled workers, modular homes offer another advantage in that they can be built by relatively unskilled workers who can be trained quickly in how to build them. Building a modular home leaves a smaller carbon footprint, may take only around 10 weeks rather than the standard 40, and once built they can be tailored to a more energy efficient lifestyle.
But it is as a possible solution to the country’s chronic housing crisis where modular housing could score highly. The government’s aim is for between 240,000 and 300,000 new homes to be built per year, some way ahead of the current rate of 190,000 per year. Housing charity Shelter recently found that private rents were outstripping wages by 60%, leading more people to try to get onto the property ladder and more affordable social housing
Legal and General’s plant in Leeds makes around 4,000 modular homes annually and is looking for 400 new employees to fulfil demand. Ilke Homes, in nearby Harrogate, recently opened a new factory and hope to build 2,000 modular homes a year.
These are small steps, but the signs are that modular housing will become an increasingly popular option on the UK property scene in years to come.
