Six Chinese factories to pump out 25,000 prefab homes a year for UK housing market

Six Chinese factories to pump out 25,000 prefab homes a year for UK housing market

13:50 PM, 20th December 2016, About 7 years ago 15

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prefab 1China National Building Material Company (CNBM) is to use it’s industrial power in a £2.75bn joint venture with UK housing association, Your Housing Group (YHG) based in Warrington and renewable energy supplier, Welink.

This partnership is planned to help ease the massive under supply and pent up demand for affordable homes in the crisis hit UK housing market.

Six factories creating 1000 jobs will be built to pump out 25,000 prefabricated, solar powered, low carbon, energy efficient homes per year by 2022 using Spanish technology.

This deal has been endorsed by the Uk’s Department for International Trade with Chinese State owned CNBM investing £2.5bn, and housing association YHG £250m.

Welink confirmed the factories will use British light gauge steel framing to produce panelised components for residential developments that are “at least 75% off grid” thanks to solar power and energy efficient design.

International Trade Minister, Greg Hands, said “this is a clear endorsement of the UK’s attractiveness as a place for inward investment. This announcement has the potential to benefit local communities across the country, creating jobs, boosting local economies and creating homes.

CNBM’s chairman, Peng Shou, said “the key to unlocking the opportunities to address the housing needs of the UK is through the development and delivery of an industrialisation strategy at significant scale”.

Five pilot schemes are planned to deliver 2,000 homes next year before the factories are built, with the panels for these homes supplied by Barcelona Housing Systems. The first scheme is due to get planning permission for Liverpool in January.prefab 2

Ajmal Rahman, chairman of Welink Group said, “Our partnership comes at a time when the UK’s housing shortfall is only going to be addressed by radical innovation in building practices which opens the way for modular housing. This joint venture will give a significant kick start to delivering the new homes people need across the UK which includes helping to address fuel poverty issues through our incorporated solar and energy efficient design, meaning our developments can be at least 75% off grid. Furthermore, British produced light gauge steel framing will help keep our carbon footprint to a minimum.”

It is thought the project will be able to get the cost of construction down to just £400 per square metre once the economies of scale and production have kicked in. This is down from an initial projected cost of £1,000 per square metre

The figure of 25,000 new homes per year is still some way short of the 250,000 required just to meet UK demand without putting a dent in the shortfall of home building in the last 20 years.


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Comments

Appalled Landlord

20:20 PM, 21st December 2016, About 7 years ago

This scheme will not help people in London, where the housing crisis is at its most acute, According to Inside Housing magazine, which “broke” the story, the consortium “will focus on areas of the country outside London and the South East where high land costs make the development plans less financially attractive. It will seek to locate the homes strategically, within a 50 to 70-mile radius of the factory.”

But the shortage of housing is greatest in London. “In London, the number of households in temporary accommodation at 30 September 2016 was 53,370, 72% of the total England figure.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577870/Statutory_Homelessness_and_Prevention_and_Relief_Statistical_Release_July_to_September_2016_v2.pdf page 8.

Rachel Hodge

23:08 PM, 21st December 2016, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Appalled Landlord" at "21/12/2016 - 20:20":

Relocation Relocation Relocation.

Massive disruption for tenant families, and if demand is lower in an area, that area is also likely to be socially deprived, with lower employment opportunities.

But I am in favour of prefab construction, and the Germans do it to incredibly high standards e.g. BauHaus (vorsprung durch technik).

I read in Modus (RICS mag) about China's plan to build 35 million houses in 5 years! Practice makes perfect ...

As for quality, I'd rather live in one of those than some of the low cost housing I've seen over here - utterly grim!

Blodwyn

8:38 AM, 24th December 2016, About 7 years ago

"International Trade Minister, Greg Hands, said “this is a clear endorsement of the UK’s attractiveness as a place for inward investment. This announcement has the potential to benefit local communities across the country, creating jobs, boosting local economies and creating homes." "
Twaddle. Unlike HMG Ministers of Paperclips,the Chinese are intelligent. They see the UK Government for what it is, a soft touch.
Sorry to be a wet blanket but I don't want to see 'hard working families' cheated, yet again, by the cynical misuse of power.

terry sullivan

9:02 AM, 24th December 2016, About 7 years ago

and when it goes tits up the taxpayer will carry the cost?

Martin S

11:59 AM, 24th December 2016, About 7 years ago

Let's face it, the UK had a net gain of 660,000 people within the last year alone, and so to cope with just this influx, there will have to be lots of homes built, never mind dealing with the previous pent up demand. The truth is that the UK has never had enough homes for its ever growing population.

Prefabs were the way forward for many after the last war, and so here we purely have a repeat solution. The trouble is that these modern, 'battery hen' prefabs will also have a limited life, and not something a sensible owner/occupier will want to spend their hard earned money on.

Light gauge steel framing? Doesn't sound like these glorified shoe boxes are built to last. The Eco card is being played again here in order to try and gain acceptance.

However, at £20k per housing unit, large companies & land owners will see opportunities here. Like a glorified caravan parks, these units will be crammed in, and rented out to the needy. As somebody else pointed out, if the likes of you or I tried to get Planning Permission for something like this, the chance of getting it would be slim.

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