Places for People pen ‘UK’s biggest’ modular housing deal

Housing developers Places for People has signed a deal with modular housebuilder ilke Homes for 750 modular homes.

ilke’s factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire will send 500 homes to sites Places for People already owns and 250 will be reserved for future affordable housing schemes.

It’s a boost for the newly-formed ilke, whose factory opened in 2018 and has the capacity to build over 2000 modular homes a year.

Their homes are constructed in half the time it would normally take and they say their factory generates around 90% less on-site waste and 80% improvement in man-hour productivity.

The homes are using light gauge steel and can be clad in traditional brick making it look like a normal house.

Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse said it was ‘excellent news’ for the emerging sector.

‘Today’s announcement supports our urgent mission to deliver more, better and faster home construction to ensure a new generation can realise the dream of home ownership,’ he said.

Mark Farmer, a government advisor who previously warned the construction sector must ‘modernise or die’, said the deal shows Places for People’s ‘leadership’ in the modular housing space.

‘We were impressed that ilke Homes had a strong digital design thread, a clear path for business evolution and the technical and management skills to be a best in class modular business,’ he added.

With the UK government still some way off reaching their target of building 300,000 homes a year, modular has long been touted as an efficient, inexpensive and environmentally-friendly solution to plugg

Many councils, including Leeds and Birmingham, believe modular could be a solution to the growing social housing waiting list for people who require one-bed or two-bed properties.

Read Environment Journal’s recent report on why modular housing hasn’t taken off in the same way in Scandinavian countries.

In other related news, last month Urban Splash announced a partnership with Japan’s biggest housebuilder, Sekisui House, which they hope will accelerate the delivery of modular homes in the UK.

Photo credit – Ilke Homes