A North East housebuilder has launched production of its first innovative modular homes, with a £6m order book ahead.
County Durham housebuilder CoreHaus last year announced plans to significantly in the region, after launching plans for a plant dedicated to the manufacture of its steel-framed homes, which had been successfully trialled in the area.
The firm – a joint venture between Carlton & Co Group, the parent company behind Homes by Carlton, and national social enterprise Fusion21 – has set out a five-year plan which is aiming to produce around 1,000 modular homes a year, which will lead to more than 300 people working across the business.
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Now production of the first steel-framed modular homes is under way at the firm’s factory, a 20,000 sq ft unit on Jade Business Park, Murton, near Seaham, County Durham.
The homes will be built using modern methods of construction (MMC) which CoreHaus says will result in high quality homes, built faster and leading to lower energy bills.
Since moving into its first 海角视频 manufacturing facility in County Durham, CoreHaus has been recruiting while also securing new commercial contracts, which already stands at £6m.
The company, which now employs 12 people, has agreed to provide modular homes to regional housebuilder Homes by Carlton and a national social enterprise charity. CoreHaus is starting to produce homes for the Thorpe Thewles site of Homes by Carlton.
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Managing director Scott Bibby said: “The housing market remains incredibly buoyant with demand continuing to outstrip supply. There’s some extremely positive collaboration going on in the industry which will increase market share and strengthen the reputation of MMC.
“We know the housing sector wants something that’s both affordable and incorporates high-quality design within a modular frame. We are already in discussions with several regional and national housing associations interested in working with our product.
“Our light gauge steel-frame system ensures that CoreHaus can be used in both urban and rural locations with elevation treatments tailored to suit each setting, providing almost unlimited design potential. The standardised modular core means the solution can be configured for homes of almost any size.”
The modular housing sector has been given a boost by national housing agency Homes England, which is ramping up delivery of local authority housing schemes, encouraging greater use of modern methods of construction.
Housing associations looking to sign lucrative strategic partnership deals with Homes England to build large numbers of affordable homes will have to commit to using modern methods of construction for at least 25% of their pipeline.
Mr Bibby added: “Our production and designs draw on modern, technical skills and innovation. We have a real opportunity to break the current mould in housebuilding and construction and achieve our vision which is to transform new build housing delivery.”