Trade body says modular homes are 55% less expensive than traditional new builds
The government should allocate 20% of its affordable housing pot to modular housing, according to a new trade body for the modular industry.
Make UK Modular, whose members include Laing O’Rourke and L&G, said if the government backed modular construction 20,000 low energy use homes could be delivered across the UK.
These homes would cost 55% less to heat than the average family house made of brick, the report said, and 32% less than a traditional new build.
Steve Cole, director of Make UK Modular, said: “Government must accelerate modular delivery, building on the investment made and the jobs created, by removing the remaining barriers holding the industry back.”
Make UK Modular said if planning permission were fast-tracked for modular housing, it could create homes twice as fast and 4,000 jobs could be created in ‘left behind’ areas of the UK.
It said modular manufacturers have built factories in post-industrial provincial towns or cities, creating more than 3,000 jobs, and delivering £700m of investment to low-growth, low employment areas, the report said.
The findings come after companies have struggled to make modular businesses work. Last month high-rise off-site manufacturing firm Vision Modular systems saw profits fall back by 25% and modular housebuilding venture Urban Splash House fell into administration in May. Last week, L&G Modular revealed it had fallen to its sixth successive loss.
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