INDUSTRY NEWS 5
Offsite manufacturing hailed as saviour of London’s housing crisis
Factory-built homes could provide the answer to London’s housing crisis, according to a recent report from the London Assembly Planning Committee. Authored by the Planning Committee’s
chair, Nicky Gavron, the report, titled ‘Designed, sealed, delivered: The contribu- tion of offsite manufactured homes to solving London’s housing crisis’ recom- mends that the London Mayor provide
“clear and strong leadership” in raising the awareness of offsite manufacturing’s (OSM) potential, and that he work towards defin- ing and adopting a Manufactured Housing Design Code. He should also look at the potential of using TfL-owned land to stimulate the OSM sector, and set up a dedicated OSM-specific procurement framework for the capital.
London needs 50,000 new homes a year
to meet its growing demands, and to reach this target, an innovative approach could be vital, the report says. In the 1970s, prefab housing contributed significantly to supply, but the report suggests the new model of factory manufactured homes is ‘light years’ ahead of previous examples. The Committee argues in the report that builders and manufacturers are producing offsite manufactured homes that are characterised by high quality, digital design, precision engineering and eco-efficient performance. It states that the wide variety of homes that OSM now produces can meet the needs of families with children, older people and single households, and that the business model could be particularly suitable for rental accommodation at all income levels. OSM buildings can reportedly also be built and occupied in half the time of conventional buildings, requiring fewer vehicles to transport materials to site. The report’s author Gavron believes that traditional construction techniques will only take us so far in the ‘huge task’ of meeting London’s housebuilding target. She said: “Offsite manufactured housing is an innovative, forward-looking and exciting way to close the gap. These buildings are high quality and outstanding in terms of performance. Their construction is more environmentally-friendly than traditional construction methods, and they are a far cry from their prefabricated predecessors. “Few will disagree that using vacant public land to build homes quickly and with less pollution and disruption could be great news for London, tailored to demands at every price point.”
Gavron hailed the manufacturing technique as a “once in a generation” opportunity to work collaboratively with investors, developers and policy makers, concluding: “The Mayor is ideally placed to respond to the report’s recommendations and call to action.” Mark Farmer, chief executive of Cast Consultancy, agreed, saying: “This timely report sends an unequivocal message to the Mayor of London that now is the time to show strong political leadership to establish a mainstream precision manufactured housing market in the capital. It could underpin ambitions not just for housing, but wider economic growth.”
OFFSITE MANUFACTURED HOUSING IS AN INNOVATIVE, FORWARD-LOOKING AND EXCITING WAY TO CLOSE THE GAP –THESE BUILDINGS ARE HIGH QUALITY AND
OUTSTANDING IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE Nicky Gavron, ‘Designed, sealed, delivered: The contribution of offsite manufactured homes to solving London’s housing crisis’ report author
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