4 INDUSTRY NEWS
HOUSEBUILDER & DEVELOPER
Publisher Anthony Parker
James Parker
FROM THE EDITOR
Put largely down to Brexit uncertainty, the September Glenigan Housing report for the three months to August was more disappointing reading, showing a “marked weakening in private developments and social housing starts.” Could modular be the answer, or does it create more challenges?
I attended UK Construction Week at the NEC recently, and one of the most prominent stands was from the China International Marine Containers Group (CIMC), an example of their containers repurposed as housing. They have already provided several commercial sector projects in the UK, and are moving into residential. A company with this kind of capacity (they have 60,000 employees) could quite easily erect container-based residential projects all over the UK. Japan’s biggest housebuilder, Sekisui, is in a joint venture with our modular-friendly Government expected to lead to thousands of homes built.
Two towers are currently under construction in Croydon to a design by HTA Design, at 38 and 44 storeys the tallest yet to be built using modular methods, and comprising 546 flats. And Berkeley Homes is following housing association Swan Housing and L&G, by building its own modular factory.
ON THE COVER
Chris Hodson explains how the changing climate is increasing flood risk, and how SuDS can help
10.19
HOUSEBUILDER & DEVELOPER
Brian Berry details the barriers to building for SMEs, as outlined in the FMB’s recent survey
The World Green Building Council says the construction sector can reach net zero carbon by 2050
But what is happening at the mainstream level? Are traditional housebuilders letting go of traditional methods and embracing modular methods? It means an entire change of not only building itself, but also supply chain, and change is happening slowly. According to a report by law firm Pinsent Masons, only around 15,000 homes built of the roughly 200,000 homes currently built in the UK are modular, so we are lagging behind the leading countries.
Data from the Office for National Statistics has just been released which makes grim reading for the housebuilding sector, given the target of 300,000 homes per year. The ONS estimates that 844,000 new homes will be needed in London alone by 2041 – but fewer than 54,000 have been built in the previous two years.
Year on year, new private housing work was up by 4 per cent, but August was down by a not inconsiderable 0.9 per cent on the previous month. Modular has to be actively pushed forward via Government interventions if we are going to get anywhere near hitting the numbers needed.
THE KEY TO HOUSING WORKERS
Jack Wooler speaks to architects Stanton Williams about its 264-home project for the University of Cambridge, where the space between buildings has been utilised to embed the new community into the site
NW Cambridge Key Worker Housing – image courtesy of JackHobhouse go to page 10
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
It’s not going to be without pain for many private sector housebuilders – offsite is more expensive to build. Currently builders will only build at the rate they can sell – what are their direct incentives to do things differently? It’s going to take a leap of faith for many smaller housebuilders, if there’s no safety net.
James Parker
Managing Editor James Parker
Assistant Editor Jack Wooler
Editorial Assistant Roseanne Field
Studio Manager Mikey Pooley
Production Assistants Georgia Musson Kimberley Musson
Account Managers Sheehan Edmonds Paul Field
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PR Executives Suzanne Easter Kim Friend
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Managing Director Simon Reed
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