Rooker: one bad project could scupper off-site sector

Rooker said the history of prefabricated housing in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s meant critics would pounce on any failed projects.

He said: "One bad set of stories in the current decade will set everyone back years. This is why quality control is absolutely crucial – and it is no good just having this at the factory. It's got to follow all the way through to the site."

Rooker made the comments while welcoming delegates to the OffSite03 conference in Garston, Watford, on Monday. He reassured them that the government was "wholly positive" about the sector.

However, he also exhorted the British industry not to lose OSM business to the more experienced manufacturers overseas.

"It would be tragic if the end product of the current push was a mass increase in imports of modern methods from abroad."

Charlie Adams, chief executive of Hyde Group, backed Rooker's stance, saying. "The British press is particularly quick to jump on anything that goes wrong. One bad project is a very serious risk for everyone."

The government is attempting to bolster the nascent OSM industry in an attempt to speed up the construction of new homes.

The Housing Corporation has ringfenced KickStart and Challenge Fund cash for 3000 homes built using modern methods of construction.

However, a select committee report in February criticised the government's policy. It said only a modest increase in OSM should be contemplated until the method was widely used in the private sector.