More than half of the population happy to live in an offsite-constructed home
With the UK facing an ever deepening housing crisis, could MMC be the answer? A new report by the Building Societies Association points to offsite construction.
It is no secret or surprise to learn that in 2016 the UK has missed its housebuilding target again. The annual target is currently 200,000 just to keep up with demand, this figure is closer to 300,000 if we are to reduce the deficit in supply. This story of under-supply has remained unchanged for decades.
Local authorities aren’t building in any volume and pressure on private landlords is increasing. The problem extends beyond home buyers to cover private and social renting. It is time for an additional string to be added to the UK’s housebuilding bow. One which could ease the housing crisis by providing more high quality, energy efficient, affordable homes, faster. Enter modern methods of construction (MMC). A recent report from the Building Societies Association champions MMC as one potential solution to the housing crisis, and it’s not difficult to see why…
What is MMC?
‘Modern methods of construction’ is an umbrella term used to describe a number of construction methods which significantly differ from ‘traditional’ methods, like brick and block. The BSA report particularly focuses on one aspect of MMC - offsite construction.
Offsite constructed homes are, unsurprisingly, constructed in a controlled factory environment before being erected onsite, often in a matter of days. If adopted into mainstream, homes built offsite could become much more affordable. There are numerous potential benefits associated with offsite construction, for example in a factory environment work isn’t delayed by unpredictable British weather, and disruption to those living locally is reduced as fewer people are needed onsite for a shorter period of time compared to traditional builds. Waste is reduced and efficiency is improved as technology can be more precise and costs can be carefully controlled.
In Germany – a country famed for its precision engineering – offsite constructed homes account for 20% of new homes built each year. Meanwhile 14% of the 1.6million homes built annually in Japan are constructed offsite. It appears the UK is starting to catch-up, warming to offsite homes. In a recent survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of the BSA, 53% of respondents say they would be happy to live in a home built using offsite construction. However, around a third (31%) claim they would not be happy to live in such a property. As the BSA report recommends, more must be done to inform consumers about building innovation. Like most new things, offsite constructed homes and broader MMC properties are met with some consumer caution. A key challenge is the preconceived negative connotations associated with the term ‘prefab’. Most were built as post-war emergency housing, characterised by their flimsy construction and lacklustre appearance. New offsite constructed builds are worlds away from the prefabs of yesteryear. Today’s offerings span from stylish apartments to grandiose ‘Grand Design’ homes – and everything in between. They are well-designed, robust and energy efficient. Right now, this form of building is small-scale, but it has the capacity to go mainstream, at which point it could make a significant impact on the supply of housing. The BSA’s report recommends a joined-up effort from the whole housing industry – that’s government, builders, lenders, valuers, and insurers – to make MMC commonplace in the UK. The Government could lead the way by including MMC homes alongside traditionally-built homes on sites they are commissioning, such as Northstowe in Cambridgeshire.
If the UK fully embraced this kind of innovative housing as an additional supply chain and increased production to levels similar to other countries, it would take us a long way towards plugging the deficit in supply and ease the UK’s supply-led housing crisis.
Read the full BSA housing report at www.bsa.org.uk
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